NYC establishes weekend dining plazas on Austin Street and 70th Road’s ‘Restaurant Row’
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The city’s Department of Transportation will ban cars from a portion of 70th Road to allow for more outdoor dining. Rendering courtesy of Matthew Celmer
By David Brand
New York City’s Department of Transportation will ban cars from a portion of Austin Street and 70th Road to make room for more outdoor dining, three weeks after Queens Community Board 6 proposed the plan.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the expansion of the city’s Open Restaurants initiative in Forest Hills Friday. Under the plan, cars will be banned from Austin Street between 72nd Avenue and 72nd Road and from much of 70th Road between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard on Fridays from 5 to 11 p.m. and weekends from noon to 11 p.m.
The Open Restaurants initiative will also extend to Woodside Avenue between 76th Street and 78th Street.
“Open Restaurants has given New Yorkers more than just a meal away from home — it has given our city a sign that better times are ahead,” de Blasio said.
In late-June, Community Board 6 recommended the DOT ban cars from two-thirds of 70th Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street, a strip known as “Restaurant Row.” The board recommended turning the remaining into a two-way street to allow motorists to enter and exit a parking garage on the Queens Boulevard side of the block.
The board also recommended banning cars from the two-block stretch of Austin Street.
"CB6 was thrilled to hear the mayor's announcement today that restaurants in Forest Hills will now have more space to expand outdoor dining safely in our district,” said Community Board 6 Chair Alexa Weitzman.
Weitzman credited Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Brown and Councilmember Karen Koslowitz for supporting the proposal. Restaurants can apply for outdoor permits on the city’s Open Restaurants website.
Architect Matthew Celmer prepared renderings for outdoor dining on 70th Road, which some member of the community board reviewed.
“The argument there is that you can really draw people to the neighborhood,” said Celmer, who founded the firm MCV. “This could pull people in from all over Queens.”
Since the city began to allow outdoor dining, eateries have set up tables on sidewalks, in protected bike lane medians and in parking spaces.
“This might be a moment to re-evaluate how our cities are working,” Celmer said. “It could lead to more creativity in the city.”
