Mayor Eric Adams launched a crackdown on abandoned and dilapidated outdoor dining structures, deploying city workers to raze decrepit sheds that he said make up a minority of the city’s mostly popular Open Restaurants scheme.
The shoddy shed blitz already led to the demolition of two dozen curbside wooden setups that were left to deteriorate by owners of now-closed eateries, according to City Hall.
“We want these sheds to be restaurants, not restrooms,” Mayor Adams told reporters at an Aug. 18 press conference in Manhattan.
Adams announced the new initiative Thursday next to an abandoned outdoor dining spot in Koreatown, and hizzoner took a swing at its side with a sledgehammer to mark the occasion.
“When a dining shed is no longer in use and it’s abandoned and it’s a safety hazard, we have to tear it down,” the mayor said. “The blight and disorder that we are witnessing at some of our sites is unacceptable and it will not be how we do business in this city.”