STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Mayor-elect Eric Adams and city Councilman Keith Powers are calling on New York City to allow restaurants and bars in the five boroughs to use propane heaters for outdoor dining this winter season, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing it wouldn’t return, according to a recent report by Eater New York.
Adams and Powers crafted a joint letter asking for the return of the measure that allowed propane heaters to be used by restaurant and bar owners for their outdoor dining settings, the media outlet reported. Crains New York initially reported last month that a City Hall spokesperson said the reason that propane heaters wouldn’t return was made in regards to fire safety.
“Many diners still prefer the safety of outdoor dining to dining indoors, and restaurants are still struggling financially to recover,” Adams and Powers wrote in the letter, according to Eater. “We ask you to reconsider your decision to reinstate the ban on propane heaters for another year.”
The heaters were previously prohibited at food establishments, but last year, the city Fire Department allowed businesses to use them outdoors as an emergency measure when indoor dining was limited or temporarily banned.
It was at a time in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic where indoor dining required temperature checks, six feet of distance between dining tables, and a cut in the number of customers served indoors. Due to those restrictions, many restaurants and bars created outdoor spaces for customers to dine — and many used propane heaters.
Adams and Powers pointed out that there were no fires as a result of the propane heaters. They said the “majority of restaurants operated the heaters safely and in compliance with the regulations,” according to the letter, as reported by Eater.
Now, restaurants and bars are able to serve customers indoors so long as a customer provides proof of vaccination and identification to the establishment. Unvaccinated people can dine outdoors, according to the city’s restrictions. But with the colder weather arriving, restaurants will have to find a new way to keep their customers warm if they dine outside.
According to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, eating establishments that fall under the umbrella of indoor dining are restaurants, catering halls, event spaces, hotel banquet rooms, bars, nightclubs, cafeterias, grocery stores with indoor dining, coffee shops and fast food or quick service with indoor dining.
The law also mandates other proprietors to comply for indoor fitness facilities — gyms, pools, dance studios and any other fitness-centric operations. It applies to the entertainment realm as well — music and concert halls, museums, movie theaters, zoos, aquariums, professional sports arenas, indoor stadiums, convention centers, exhibition halls, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, pool and billiard halls, recreational game centers, adult entertainment and indoor play areas.
Additionally, the new rules mean staff at these specific establishments must be vaccinated as well.
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Mayor-elect Eric Adams to NYC: Allow restaurants to use propane heaters for outdoor dining, report says - silive.com
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