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As New York City gets closer to its goal of returning to a pre-pandemic way of life, elected officials are considering making one emergency order a permanent fixture.
A New York City Council committee held its first hearing Tuesday on a bill requested by Mayor Eric Adams that would change the rules for restaurant outdoor seating permits that would allow for more businesses to provide a sidewalk seating option.
City councilmember Marjorie Velazquez, the bill's co-sponsor, said during Tuesday's hearing that thousands of restaurants around the city were able to survive the pandemic because of outdoor dining and argued that the city needed to adapt to help owners stay afloat.
"It's important we save our small businesses, our restaurants," she said during the zoning and franchises committee hearing.