Outdoor dining is back in New York City, so find a table and some fresh air. The roadway cafes that popped up across the city during the COVID pandemic had to be taken down last year, but they've now become seasonal,

Manhattan definitely has the majority of outdoor dining setups, especially the Lower East Side, the West Village and the Upper West Side. In Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Greenpoint have the majority of al fresco dining and in Queens, it’s Astoria. No surprise there.

Outdoor dining is officially back in New York City, but with a new set of seasonal rules and plenty of confusion. Restaurant owners say the updated program—requiring permits and liquor license alterations—is expensive and unclear.