De Blasio Dines In Harlem As City's Restaurants Reopen

HARLEM, NY — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated the reopening of the city's restaurants by taking in a meal at Harlem restaurant Melba's with First Lady Chirlane McCray, the mayor said Tuesday.

De Blasio said he would dine out during his Monday morning press conference, but didn't reveal where he planned to eat. On Tuesday morning the mayor revealed he went to the Harlem comfort food spot on W 114th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard during an interview with PIX 11's Dan Mannarino. De Blasio said that New Yorkers seem ready to patronize restaurants three months after food and beverage businesses were limited to takeout and delivery to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"I'm really pleased that we were able to help so many restaurants open up with our outdoor seating. I was up in Harlem last night at Melba’s, an amazing restaurant, and people were out in great numbers, like really ready for it. And it's so exciting to think we're going to help those restaurants come back," de Blasio said.

New York City entered phase two of its economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, which means that restaurants, offices, salons and places of worship reopened with reduce capacities. Restaurants are only allowed to serve diners outdoors. The city has approved 4,136 applications for outdoor seating as of Tuesday, according to de Blasio.

De Blasio's administration worked with the New York City Council to make it easier for restaurants to operate sidewalk cafés and other forms of outdoor seating, such as setting up tables in public areas, open streets or parking lanes. New York City's application process for outdoor seating used to require a long public approval process that required business owners to present plans to neighborhood community boards.

The city-led plan, similar to de Blasio's Open Streets initiative, came just days after City Council members put forward their own bill to fast-track outdoor dining, claiming the mayor was dragging his feet on guidelines for restaurants. The city's plan requires restaurant owners to apply for outdoor dining space directly with the city Department of Transportation, rather than having the city agency survey city streets to identify appropriate spaces.