China News Service, July 12th. According to the US "Overseas News" report, as a new measure during the epidemic, outdoor dining has become the lifeline of many catering companies and has also been welcomed by many consumers.

A few days ago, New York Governor Cuomo signed a decree allowing restaurants to use the outdoor dining area opened in public spaces such as streets and sidewalks to extend for another year.

However, for the future of outdoor dining, Chinese businesses in Brooklyn are both happy and worried. They welcome the governor's concern about the recovery of the restaurant industry, as well as concerns about the occupation of parking spaces, high security risks and excessive government fines.

The most important thing is that as the epidemic subsides and summer arrives, consumers are more willing to eat indoors, and outdoor dining places are now rarely used.

　　Mr. Lin, the head of the 99th restaurant group that operates self-service hot pots on Brooklyn Eighth Avenue, Staten Island, Chinatown and Flushing, said that although the governor has extended outdoor dining, they have planned to do so due to weather and fire protection. The luxurious outdoor boxes that cost more than 60,000 US dollars for the Eight Avenue Store were completely dismantled.

　　"Because we are a hot pot restaurant, the weather is not very good outside, and there are basically no customers sitting outside to dine. Outdoor dining will not help us." He said, "I believe other types of food Restaurants, special bars and cold drinks are especially welcome to reserve."

　　Mr. Lin pointed out that when the government allowed restaurants to set up outdoor dining spaces, everyone didn't know how long they could last. There was not much investment in dining room decoration. Most of the facilities were relatively simple and could not last for long.

And this was originally an emergency plan for survival in a crisis. Now New York is fully open, and diners are more willing to return to normal to eat indoors. The utilization rate of outdoor dining is indeed not high.

　　On the other hand, many customers are worried about the virus and endless violent crimes, and they dare not take public transportation. More and more people are driving in private cars, which makes the already tight parking spaces on Eight Avenues worse.

Outdoor dining spaces occupy a lot of street space, which has a great impact on parking spaces, and there are also obvious traffic safety hazards.

Therefore, the 99th restaurant decided to tear down the temporary street seats of the Eight Avenue Store, and its carefully built Shidao Store and Flushing Store’s outdoor dining gardens will continue to be retained.

Mr. Lin described that these outdoor garden dining areas use the restaurant’s own parking space. They were planned for long-term operation from the time they were designed, and they have now become the new signature feature of the restaurant.

　　Chen Shanzhuang, the owner of Golden Palace Restaurant on Sixth Avenue and 62nd Street in Brooklyn, also pointed out that he believes that extending outdoor dining is a good thing, but he is very worried that the state and city governments have inconsistent policies and regulations, making restaurant operators at a loss.

He introduced that he had just received a notice from the Municipal Transportation Bureau (DOT) more than a week ago, saying that if the outdoor dining area of ​​the restaurant is too few people to use, it must be demolished before July 23, which makes the shop very difficult.

　　Chen Shanzhuang said that there are indeed very few customers who can withstand the outdoor high temperature, but the mutant new crown virus is also spreading rapidly in New York. Restaurants must reserve outdoor dining areas just in case, even if there is a ticket for it.

He hoped that the New York State Government and the City Hall would have a unified calibre so that the public would know what to do.

(Gao Shiyun)