New York restaurants got super creative during the pandemic. These Outdoor Dining Structures and Open Streets Won 'Alfresco' Awards
The Alfresco Awards was created by the Regional Plan Association to honor and recognize the outdoor dining structures, open streets, and collaborative neighborhood efforts that emerged during the pandemic.
"The work continues to make outdoor dining and Open Streets a permanent fixture of the city, but these winners show us what a future with equitable and people-focused streetscapes look like," said Tri-State Transportation Campaign executive director Renae Reynolds in a statement.
In addition to 34th Avenue, the award-winning Open Streets include TAMA Sundays in Brooklyn, Stapleton Saturdays in Staten Island, and Piazza di Belmont on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
“Launched in July 2020 as a response to the shutdown of indoor dining, we implemented this first-ever piazza-style al fresco dining plan on Arthur Avenue to help support local businesses in the Bronx’s Little Italy, many of which have been operating for over a century and survived the 1918 pandemic and Great Depression” ”
The award winners were selected by a panel of journalists, transportation experts, and hospitality industry professionals. Winning restaurants were chosen based on their use of sustainable materials, their accessibility, and the overall visual style of their outdoor dining arrangements.
Peaches Kitchen and Bar in Brooklyn was recognized for its use of upcycled plastic bottles to construct its "friendship cabin" dining booths. Two awards went to collaborative efforts to transform street space in a given neighborhood.
One award went to a group called Assembly for Chinatown, which created outdoor dining spaces that local restaurants could use, but at no cost to the struggling businesses themselves. In Koreatown, a group of second-story restaurants came together to form a Maiden Korea, a shared seating setup in a nearby vacant lot.
HERE is the complete GALLERY of winning restaurants:
