Can Outdoor Cafe Culture Thrive On Roosevelt Island? RIOC And Hudson Related Shops On Main Street Looking To Help Local Restaurants With More Outdoor Seating While Maintaining Coronavirus Social Distancing

Great question - @Rooseveltisland is the perfect place for a really great cafe culture all the time - not just during a pandemic. Great cafes is one of the things I miss most about my hometown. If there can be thriving cafes in Astoria we should be able to perfect them here. https://t.co/CWkQz3Z1WA

— Minnehanonck (@minnehanonck) May 15, 2020

Image of Roosevelt Island Pier NYC, Summer of 2012

During the June 2 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Operations Advisory Committee video conference meeting, I asked what will RIOC do to help Roosevelt Island restaurants and residents with social distance outdoor seating once the restaurants are allowed to open for more than take out and delivery:

Will RIOC allow restaurants to have outdoor seating in public spaces such as Good Shepherd Plaza, Blackwell Plaza, temporary outdoor seating around the perimeter of McManus and Firefighters Field for example. What is Roosevelt Island's version of NY Open Streets Plan. 

RIOC President Susan Rosenthal and Chief Finance Officer John O'Reilly replied that so far none of the restaurants have asked for anything but that RIOC will soon be meeting with Hudson Related Shops On Main Street to discuss possible plans.

Here's the full RIOC Operations Committee discussion on possible plans for Roosevelt Island restaurants once they fully reopen.



RIOC Director David Kappel noted:

... The crisis facing the restaurant industry is universal so the State, Albany, got to be dealing with this on virtually every level possible.

Let's face it our business district is weak under the best circumstances. This could be an existential threat to alot of our merchants....

RIOC Director Michael Shinozaki said:

... We're in this weird spot between city licensing, Community Board 8, State licensing... What are we allowed to do, what are we not allowed to do, so we can give the vendors some options....

And RIOC Director David Kraut added that Hudson Related's:

David Kramer, he's got some legal resources we may not have, he's got some muscle he may apply if we encourage him...

... These are extreme times right now and we have extreme problems particularly to our restaurants and food service facilities here and to food service all across the city and if there's a chance for us to make more food service institutions available to our community, I think we should be willing to take a chance.

We're not going to jail just because we've authorized people who serve liquor on the street

Hudson Related Shops On Main Street representatives met with RIOC and Roosevelt Island restaurant owners yesterday.According to a Shops On Main Street representative:

The shops are very excited to think out-of-the-box (and outside of their shops!) to find safe and joyous ways to bring some happiness to islanders as we phase back in to island life.

Here's what the outdoor seating at Eleanor's Pier, Roosevelt Island's version of Smorgesburg, looked like in the summer of 2014.



and Pier NYC



in summer 2012.