Oyster Bay Town Waives Restaurant Fees To Foster Outdoor Dining

PLAINVIEW, NY — Oyster Bay town officials announced in Plainview on Monday — National “Mom and Pop Business Owners Day” — that they will waive the permit fees associated with outdoor dining through 2021 to encourage more business.

Supervisor Joseph Saladino town officials have “worked tirelessly since the start of the pandemic to help local businesses come back safely and effectively.”

“We cut the red tape, waived fees and allowed for new outdoor dining options for restaurant patrons, helping owners open safely and successfully,” said Saladino, who made the announcement at a news conference outside Craft 387 Bistro in Plainview.

He said the waived fees will allow restaurant owners to recoup on their investments on outdoor dining essentials like tents, heaters and other coverings.

Craft 387 owner John Kiggins told NBC that he had just opened six months prior to the start of the pandemic and he is still “bobbing and weaving like everyone else.”

“We were a new restaurant, so people really hadn’t gotten to know us as well,” he told the outlet.

Kiggins said the option of expanding dining to the outdoors has helped because patrons are becoming more and more comfortable dining outside, NBC reported.

Saladino said that while the investments on outdoor equipment helped many restaurants stay open “in some capacity, a survey of New York’s restaurants late last year indicated that upwards of 60 percent could close without government-funded financial assistance.” The state’s own statistics have indicated bars and restaurants account for only about 1.4 percent of new statewide cases of COVID-19, he said.

Councilman Lou Imbroto said that the “continued arbitrary rules,” which includes an 11 p.m. curfew mandated by the state, is “unfair to restaurant owners.”

“We are urging New York State to fully eliminate these restrictions as these businesses have been through enough,” he said. “The restaurant industry has already proven they can do what’s necessary to maintain safety protocols and keep customers and employees safe. Let’s let them get back to work.”