The Floral Park Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to extend permission for restaurants to use designated outdoor public spaces for seating through the end of October.
The measure is intended to cushion the financial blow dealt by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been successful, thankfully,” Mayor Dominick Longobardi said. “The restaurants are happy with it. I’m happy they’re making it work. We want to do everything we can to help those restaurants.”
Longobardi said the board was “very concerned” about the shutdowns that were forced as a result of the governor’s orders and that if needed, the board would not hesitate to extend the outdoor dining further, citing the jobs and sense of community that local small businesses provide.
Restaurants have been allowed to use certain street parking areas as seating areas as well as their own parking lots. Longobardi said restaurateurs did not want any streets to be shut down entirely and used as seating areas out of fears it would hurt their take-out revenue, which has been vital to their survival during the pandemic.
