You are reading

Forest Hills Street Will Close to Traffic All Week for Expanded Restaurant Seating

70th Road between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard will be closed for outdoor dining seven days per week under Mayor’s Open Streets: Restaurants Initiative (Photo: Queens Post)

Sept. 16, 2020 By Allie Griffin

A Forest Hills block will close to traffic daily so restaurants in the area can expand their outdoor seating onto the roadway each day of the week.

A stretch of 70th Road, between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard will be turned over to diners seven days a week — an increase from just the weekends.

The block has been closing to traffic each weekend for expanded outdoor dining as part of the city’s Open Streets: Restaurant initiative. It is one of 40 streets within the program that will expand its open hours to weekdays, beginning as early as Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today.

“Restaurants deserve every chance they can get to serve more customers this fall – and, as the weather gets cooler, New Yorkers deserve every chance they can get to enjoy outdoor dining,” de Blasio said in a statement. “The Open Streets: Restaurants program has been a success, and we’re proud to grow its reach and give restaurants more tools to make it through this crisis.”

The new open dining hours for 70th Road are Monday through Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the city to support the Open Streets: Restaurant on the stretch of 70th Road, as well as a nearby stretch of Austin Street, from 72nd Avenue to 72nd Road.

However, the Austin Street stretch is only open for outdoor dining on weekends and Friday nights.

“The open streets program has really helped the restaurants that have been able to participate,” said Leslie Brown, President, Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce. “As we are not ready for full capacity indoor dining, being able to be outside with extended seats seven days a week is a win for these restaurant owners. The community loves outdoor dining too!”

Indoor dining — at 25 percent capacity — is set to return in New York City on Sept. 30.

The full list of Queens streets participating in the city’s Open Streets: Restaurants initiative is below.

(NYC DOT)

email the author: news@queenspost.com

4 Comments

Click for Comments 
simiyalala

I wish this was done earlier in the summer. I went last Friday to dine at Moca and was very impressed. Very nice atmosphere, social distancing and a pleasant dining experience. The entire Austin St should be closed down for dining, if you ask me.

Reply
Sara Ross

I’m very supportive of the restaurants and way too many have closed but where do the trucks go that deliver the food, deliver packages to businesses and where do cars park?

4
1
Reply
Pat Macnamara

they can reschedule their deliveries and people can walk or take a Citibike. Quit finding flaws in everything

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Repeat hate crime offender charged in anti-Muslim subway attack in Forest Hills: DA

A Southeast Queens man is being held without bail after he was criminally charged with assault in the first degree as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly punching and kicking a Muslim woman on an E train in Forest Hills during the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 18.

Naved Durrni, 34, of 106th Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Thursday and additionally charged with aggravated harassment in the first and second degrees.

Hate Crimes Task Force investigating bomb threats against Mamdani: NYPD

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force launched a probe into multiple death threats made against Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani after his district office at 24-08 32nd St. in Astoria received four expletive-filled phone voicemails, on various dates, making threatening anti-Muslim statements by an unknown individual, including a threat to blow up his car.

The calls were made from an untraceable number and labeled the mayoral candidate a “terrorist who is not welcome in New York or America” in a message phoned in on Wednesday morning.

Seven teens indicted for attempted murder in brutal Kissena Park gang attack on two girls: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted seven teenagers for attempted murder, gang assault, robbery, and other crimes for an attack on two girls inside Kissena Park in Flushing in early May.

The defendants, who are all 17 years old, were variously arraigned in Queens Supreme Court between June 4 and Wednesday in two separate 25-count indictments with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.

Queens Defenders founder charged with stealing nonprofit funds as second scandal unfolds

The founder of the Queens Defenders and her husband have lawyered up after they were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the non-profit organization.

Former Queens Defenders executive director Lori Zeno, 64, surrendered Wednesday at the Brooklyn federal courthouse. Zeno was arraigned on an indictment charging her and Rashad Ruhani, 55, with wire fraud conspiracy, theft, money laundering conspiracy and other crimes.