NYC Comptroller Finds Most Approved Outdoor Dining Permits Took Over 19 Months, Days Before Vote on Faster Approvals

More than half of New York City restaurants that received outdoor dining permits since the city's Dining Out NYC program began in March 2024 waited over 19 months for approval, according to an investigation released Tuesday by City Comptroller Mark Levine. The city's Department of Transportation (DOT) has estimated that most applications take four to six months to process, according to the report.

The investigation, based on DOT data as of June 15, 2026, found that DOT had approved 28.6% of the 4,911 permit applications submitted. Only one of 388 applications filed in 2026 had been approved by mid-June, according to the comptroller's office, and 2,115 applications were still pending.

Outdoor Dining Permits Far Behind the City's Estimates

The report compares DOT's data with estimates from the city's Commission on Government Efficiency, which put roadway café approvals at three to five months and sidewalk café approvals at six to eight months. The comptroller's office found that no roadway café licenses had been issued within five months and that 12 sidewalk café applications, 2% of those submitted, had been issued within eight months. Fewer than 20 applications overall were approved within DOT's estimated eight-month timeline, the office said.

The data also showed that 238 applications (4.8%) had been canceled, with no reason recorded, and that 323 (6.6%) were missing an application date. DOT "did not clarify what criteria led to the categorization of 'not feasible'" for denied applications, the report says.

Approvals have picked up since the review began. The comptroller's office said it received 1,092 more applications for registration between June 15 and Oct. 21, and that DOT had issued 2,314 licenses by Aug. 20. The report says the increase "does not erase the lengthy delays experienced by applicants."

"The permitting process is a maze of approvals that takes far too long, depriving restaurants, bars, and cafes of expanded capacity and sorely needed revenue," Levine said in a statement.

No System to Track Delays

According to the investigation, DOT could not show that it tracks how long applications spend at each stage of review, why permits are denied, or how long Community Board and City Council reviews take. The office said the missing data "significantly hinders DOT's ability to understand the causes of delays and how to fix them."

The comptroller's office said the number of the city's roughly 27,000 restaurants taking part in outdoor dining has fallen from a peak approaching 13,000 to just under 2,500.

Ballot Measure Would Cut Review Steps

The findings come days before the Nov. 3 election, when New York City voters will consider a proposed charter amendment that would shorten or remove several outside reviews of café applications, including public hearings, newspaper notice of hearings and required Community Board review. According to the comptroller's report, the proposal's backers say the changes would cut the eight-month time frame by 75%, to about two months.

The comptroller recommended that DOT publish routine reports on processing times and pending workloads, set targets for each review stage and for clearing the backlog, and release a plan showing how it would meet the two-month target. The office said it would track DOT's permitting timelines if the ballot measure is adopted.

Sources: NYC Comptroller, "Investigation of Processing Times in DOT's Dining Out NYC Program" (Oct. 27, 2026): https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/investigation-of-processing-times-in-dots-dining-out-nyc-program/ ; report (PDF): https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/Investigation-of-Processing-Times-in-DOTs-Dining-Out-2026.pdf ; NYC Comptroller press release: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/comptroller-investigation-finds-more-than-half-of-restaurants-in-outdoor-dining-program-waited-over-19-months-for-permits-delays-deprive-businesses-of-much-needed-revenue/