To the Editor: Re “Rats! Jobs! Parking! Nightlife! A Clash Over Outdoor Dining” (front page, Nov. 16): I, for one, was delighted when sidewalk dining became part of the New York scene, giving streets some of the ambience of Paris and other European cities while helping ailing restaurants survive during the depths of the pandemic.
Taking the best of this and making it a permanent part of the New York fabric sounds like the way to go, with several provisos needed to help it make sense.
The first is that the city must charge rent for the private use of public space. Restaurants cannot expect to get sometimes a doubling of dining space for free.