Curbside Dining Options Unveiled For Hudson Square Restaurants
HUDSON SQUARE, NY — As neighborhood restaurants seek ways to weather an in-house service ban, the Hudson Square Business Improvement District is rolling up to the curb with some creative new seating options to help make outdoor dining as attractive as possible.
On Monday, the non-profit organization focused on improving Manhattan's West Side neighborhood, unveiled temporary curbside dining spaces called "parklets" in front of three restaurants participating in New York City's "Open Restaurants" initiative.
Getting Hungry, Adoro Lei and Houseman were the first three restaurants in the Hudson Square neighborhood to have the parklets installed. The group plans to build up to 30 parklets throughout the area as more restaurants receive outdoor dining permits.
"We're allowing any restaurant in Hudson Square to come to us, and we're providing the physical infrastructure for it," Ellen Baer, president and CEO of the Business Improvement District, told Patch. "We offer them the graphic treatment, the tables and chairs, the plantings, the safety measures, all that."
"They're thrilled to get nicely done, compliant, neighborhood structures. We're going to have a neighborhood wide identity that's actually quite charming," she added.
Restaurants participating in the parklet program are grateful for the added outdoor dining space.
Ned Baldwin, owner of Houseman, said he's hoping the temporary outside dining space becomes a permanent part of the New York City landscape.
"What I really do hope is the city of New York sees how much people enjoy eating outside," Baldwin told Patch. "So it is not a short fix but a permanent solution."
When asked whether the Business Improvement District played an important role in securing the outdoor dining space, Adoro Lei owner Mario Gentile kept it straight to the point.
"1,000 percent," he said. "They went way overboard to help."
The Business Improvement District has overseen Hudson Square since 2009, which then was formally known as the Printing District. The neighborhood exists between Clarkson Street on the north, Canal Street on the south, Sixth Avenue on the east, and West Street on the west.
While the area has witnessed significant business expansion over the past decade, the predominantly commercial business district saw foot traffic decline up to 90 percent at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and still sees 65 to 75 percent less foot traffic than it did in 2019.
The parklets are one of multiple strategies the Business Improvement District is currently exploring to help get customers back into local businesses, including expanding parking spaces for bikes and displaying more public art.
This article originally appeared on the West Village Patch
