Community coalition pushes for permanent sidewalk cafes in Jackson Heights

Advocates want to make outdoor dining permanent along 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights. Photo via 37th Avenue Sidewalk Cafe Coalition

By David Brand

As outdoor dining becomes the norm during New York City’s gradual economic reopening, one community coalition is advocating to make sidewalk cafes a permanent fixture of the Jackson Heights landscape.

The 37th Avenue Sidewalk Cafe Coalition wants the city to permanently extend a measure that allows for outdoor dining along 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights. Sidewalk seating allowed under the city’s Open Restaurants plan expires October 31, but a petition to make the sidewalk cafes permanent has garnered more than 300 signatures and gained the support of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

“I’ve been talking about the need for sidewalk cafes in Jackson Heights for 15 years and now’s the time to do it,” said community activist Alfonso Quiroz, who has organized businesses in support of the initiative. “These small businesses need to recover from the pandemic and residents are clamoring for outdoor cafes”

“In Manhattan, you can’t walk five feet without running into a sidewalk cafe and yet here in Jackson Heights, there’s not one,” Quiroz continued.

Restaurant owners say the high cost of outdoor permits — at times reaching more $15,000 — have prevented them from establishing sidewalk seating before the city relaxed regulations last month. Businesses must also pay for architectural plans and insurance. 

In addition to allowing permanent outdoor seating, Quiroz said the Sidewalk Cafe Coalition wants the city to reduce permitting fees and streamline the application process, particularly for non-English speakers.

“This will allow restaurants to continue to serve customers even if the pandemic continues onto next year and will help recoup some of the lost revenue from the past few months,” he said.

Quiroz, a former deputy chief of staff for ex-Councilmember Helen Sears, said 37th Avenue is the “perfect” roadway for outdoor seating in the neighborhood.

“For people living here in Jackson Heights, 37th Avenue is like Main Street. We go there for groceries, the barber shop, the bakery and to eat out,” he said, adding that restaurant owners and residents have been discussing the plan since his time as a council staffer from 2003 to 2005. 

Queens Chamber of Commerce President Tom Grech said he is a big supporter of the Sidewalk Cafe Coalition’s plan, especially as the COVID-19 economic fallout drags on,

“It’s essential to get some traction and make some money,” Grech said. “We will continue advocating for outdoor dining.”