Roadway Cafe — Adjacent Cafe Spacing & 4'6" Setback From Restaurant Perimeter

Per 34 RCNY §5-11(b), adjacent roadway cafes (or portions thereof) require a minimum gap between perimeters of 6 feet when both are the maximum 40 ft length, or 3 feet when both are under 40 ft. Each roadway cafe at the 40-ft maximum must additionally sit at least 4 feet 6 inches (4'6") inside the extension of the ground-floor restaurant's frontage perimeter. A restaurant whose frontage exceeds 40 ft may install multiple roadway-cafe portions, each subject to the same 40-ft length cap and inter-portion spacing rules.

• two roadway cafes back-to-back with less than ~6 ft between barriers
• a roadway cafe extending past the ground-floor restaurant's visible side-wall line
• barriers touching or near-touching an adjacent restaurant's cafe perimeter

1. Photograph the whole setup from the street, with the length and width in frame and something known for scale.
2. Note the address, and whether the cafe has a DOT permit or an approved plan on file.
3. File at 311 under Outdoor Dining and describe the measurement you took.
4. A cafe with no permit at all is a permit question as much as a size one — say whether one is posted.

Official channel: portal.311.nyc.gov or dial 311. Agency: NYC DOT.

DOT can issue a Notice of Violation for a roadway cafe that is too long, too wide, or badly placed, and can require it to change or to go. The amount and the remedy are set by the violation and the site history.

DOT Sidewalk Café Inspection measures the setup against its permit and the approved plan, and can require the cafe to change or remove it.

• What 311 does after you file