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A new bill proposed in the City Council would lift the city’s ban on restaurants using propane heaters in their outdoor dining set-ups in hopes of bolstering business through the colder months.
The ban instituted in November by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio took a key lifeline of the COVID-19 pandemic from city restaurants under the justification that the FDNY had advised the city to scrap heaters as a fire safety measure.
But the FDNY reported zero fires or injuries caused by outdoor dining propane heaters in all of 2020, said Council Members Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) and Marjorie Velazquez (D-Bronx), co-sponsors of the new legislation.
“Outdoor din ing and the use of propane tanks saved tens of thousands of jobs and kept countless restaurants and businesses from having to be completely shuttered,” Velazquez said in a statement. “Instead of creating another burden on businesses by prohibiting their use, we need to work with our restaurants and communities to continue to strictly store and utilize them safely.”
The heaters will be useful for restaurants when the pandemic recedes and the city Department of Transportation plans to nix the popular but controversial dining sheds.
City streets are littered with noncompliant or abandoned outdoor dining set-ups, which have become the bane of some locals. But many restaurateurs and their supporters insist bottom lines still depend on being able to serve customers outside.
“Our city’s restaurant industry still has a long road to recovery, and as the temperature drops, propane heaters are essential to keep customers warm while dining outdoors this winter,” NYC Hospital Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie said in a statement.
Mayor Eric Adams has expressed support for lifting the propane heater ban.
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