2021 Theses Master's

Outdoor Dining during COVID? Analyzing the Impact of New York City's Open Restaurants Program

Yang, Hanzhang

The purpose of this research is to understand better the conflicts developed by New York City's Open Restaurants program, which intends to help the city's hospitality industry rebound during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research proposed that the Open Restaurants program's predecessor will be the Sidewalk Cafes program. Still, its state of exception nature eliminates the community governing process, encourages the future privatization of public space, and creates conflicts on the access to sidewalks. Through historical and theoretical research on urban planning, government policy, and urban studies, the research argued that the Open Restaurants program was a faux revival of the falling public life when it failed to create or resume connection between users of the street. The author also gave recommendations to the Open Restaurants program to protect equitable access to sidewalks and strengthen community autonomy.