You are reading

A Section of Ditmars Boulevard to Become Outdoor Dining Corridor on Weekends

Google

Aug. 28, 2020 By Allie Griffin

A section of Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria is the latest Queens street to turn into an outdoor dining corridor on weekends.

The boulevard, from 33rd Street to 36th Street, will close to traffic on weekends and open for outdoor restaurant seating, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today.

The road was one of six streets across the boroughs unveiled today that were added to the city’s “Open Streets: Restaurants” initiative. It’s also the sixth Queens street added to the program.

The city initiative is meant to help restaurants bring in business, while reducing the spread of COVID-19, as the virus is harder to transmit outdoors. The reopening of indoor dining is indefinitely postponed in New York City.

Other Queens streets that have become dining corridors each weekend are listed below.

37th Road, from 75th Street to 74th Street in Jackson Heights

70th Road, from Austin Street to Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills

Austin Street, from 72nd Avenue to 72nd Road in Forest Hills

Bell Boulevard, from 39th Avenue to 41st Avenue in Bayside

Woodside Avenue, from 76th Street to 78th Street in Elmhurst

The hours for most of the street closures are from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday nights and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays — unless otherwise specified. The streets are open to pedestrians and emergency vehicles only during those hours.

Today’s announcement brings the citywide total to 81 participating streets in the Open Streets: Restaurants program, which runs through Oct. 31.

“We’re continuing to reimagine our urban landscape and give small businesses more chance than ever to recoup their losses from COVID-19,” de Blasio said. “Restaurants and diners alike have loved this program from the beginning, and we’re proud to expand it even further.”

On Thursday, the mayor suggested he may extend the city’s outdoor dining program past its Halloween end-date.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Holden calls out Mayor Adams—will he reopen ICE office on Rikers Island and tackle migrant crime?

One day after Mayor Eric Adams expressed his willingness to collaborate with the incoming Trump administration on addressing the migrant crisis and signaled a readiness to meet with former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) head Tom Homan, Council Member Robert Holden called on the mayor to reopen the ICE office on Rikers Island.

Holden, who represents District 30 in Queens, which encompasses Maspeth, Middle Village, and parts of Glendale, Ridgewood, Elmhurst, and Rego Park, has been advocating for changes to the city’s sanctuary policies since July. In a letter, he previously urged the mayor to roll back laws that restrict local law enforcement agencies—including the NYPD, Department of Correction, and Department of Probation—from cooperating with ICE.