The Town of North Hempstead has announced a “parklet” program, an extension of the town’s “Lift Up Local” initiative that focuses on business recovery and promotes outdoor dining due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The program will allow participating restaurants and food service establishments to create parklets on the street in front of their businesses to permit parking spaces next to storefronts to be used for outdoor dining areas.
Those who participate will also have the option to expand their outdoor dining service to the entire sidewalk, provided that safety precautions and ADA-accessible measures are implemented for all patrons.
“Creating parklets will give our local restaurants and eateries additional space to accommodate more customers, which will be good for business,” said Supervisor Judi Bosworth. “The Town is always looking for new ways to help our residents dine local and support the businesses in our community.”
North Hempstead officials said that parklet permits are available for free through the town’s Building Department. According to a news release from the town, the program was developed with Bosworth’s internal business recovery response work group as another way to aid businesses in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In early June, the town announced that restaurants could apply for outdoor dining permits in advance of the second reopening phase.
“Dining out is a fun activity that we have all missed for the last three months,” Bosworth said in June. “We are all anxious to resume our normal lives, and this can help return a sense of normalcy in a safe and appropriate manner. Our residents and restaurant owners need this.”
The Town of Hempstead also implemented an outdoor dining initiative in early May, similar to North Hempstead’s. According to Hempstead officials, 182 of 198 restaurants that applied for an outdoor dining permit had already received them.
“We wanted to take a leadership role in helping our restaurants jumpstart their businesses once again as they have endured through the shutdown,” Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin said. “While many of our restaurants have adjusted by providing exceptional takeout and delivery service to customers while continuing to give back to their communities, we felt this was a way to give back to them.”
