Citywide DOT · Int. 0655-2026 · High
Roadway dining is year-round again, signed August 31
Mayor Mamdani signed Int. 0655 on August 31, ending the rule that forced Dining Out NYC participants to remove roadway setups from November 30 through March 31. The bill, sponsored by Council Member Lincoln Restler, passed the Council August 13 with 37 votes in favor.
The seasonal rule was the main reason participation collapsed. The program peaked near 11,770 participants in the pandemic era. Under the seasonal version, DOT issued 1,549 roadway licenses as of April. Restaurants said the cost of tearing down and storing a structure every winter wiped out the margin from the seats.
The law allows weatherproofing and overhead-attached vertical coverings so roadway cafes can operate through winter, and it bars DOT from allowing roadway or sidewalk cafes to stay open past 11:00 p.m. DOT will issue rules in the coming months on temporary winterization. Licenses cost $1,050, and revocable consent fees for year-round setups run $6 to $31 per square foot depending on zone, with a companion measure allowing quarterly payment.
Upkeep requirements still apply. Sidewalk and roadway cafes must be kept free of trash and graffiti, and DOT inspections continue year-round.
Impact
Modeled for a 200 square foot roadway setup in a mid-price zone: annual consent fees in the range of $2,400 to $4,000 plus the $1,050 license. Restaurants that dropped out over the teardown requirement should price a return now, before DOT's winterization rules are final, so the structure can be built to the new standard once.
Manhattan · Staten Island DSNY · Local Law 199 of 2019 · Critical
Midtown South and Staten Island waste zones are live
As of September 1, the Midtown South and Staten Island Commercial Waste Zones are fully implemented. Every business in both zones must now be served by one of that zone's three authorized carters. That brings the citywide total to eight active zones: Queens Central, Bronx East, Bronx West, Brooklyn South, Queens Northeast, Lower Manhattan, Midtown South, and Staten Island.
A correction to the record: Queens West is not active. DSNY moved Queens West to Phase 8 after Waste Connections' acquisition of Royal Waste left a vacancy among its awardees. The current schedule lists a Queens West sign-up window of April 1 to May 31, 2027 and implementation on June 1, 2027. Businesses in Long Island City and Astoria may keep using any BIC-licensed carter until then.
Next up is Phase 6. The Brooklyn North and Upper Manhattan sign-up window opens October 1 and closes November 30, with implementation December 1. DSNY moved Upper Manhattan up from the back of the schedule earlier this year.
Impact
Midtown South and Staten Island businesses: verify that your first pickups under the new contract happened and that the invoice matches the agreement, including organics service. Brooklyn North and Upper Manhattan businesses: pull your current hauling invoices now, since your monthly volume is the starting point for every quote you will request in October.
Citywide DOHMH · Health Code Article 8 · High
Cooling towers: 800 inspections, 460 with violations, and a public map coming
On September 1 the administration announced new Legionnaires' measures and its first enforcement figures under the monthly sampling rules that took effect May 8. Since then, the Health Department has conducted 800 field inspections. More than 460 found at least one violation, and $80,500 in fines has been paid.
As of late August, 81 percent of registered cooling towers citywide were compliant with monthly Legionella sampling and testing. As of August 31, the Upper East Side cluster had 94 associated cases and 11 deaths, with no patients still hospitalized. Whole-genome sequencing results comparing patient and tower strains are expected this fall.
The measures: Health and DOB will link their systems by the end of 2026 to find unregistered towers. A public map showing each registered tower's inspection and sampling history is due by spring 2027. Health is already assigning the earliest OATH hearing date the rules allow, 15 days after a summons is served.
Impact
Owners of buildings with cooling towers, including mixed-use buildings with ground-floor tenants, should assume the inspection history will be public within a year. A missed monthly sample becomes a visible record. Confirm your water treatment vendor is sampling monthly and that results are logged where an inspector can see them.
Citywide DCWP · Executive Order 20 · Standard
Executive Order 20: labor agencies will no longer wait for a complaint
Executive Order 20, signed September 3, directs DCWP, the TLC, and the Commission on Human Rights to build procedures for investigating labor violations without a complaint, and to seek relief for every worker affected by an unlawful practice, including workers who never filed.
Priority goes to employers with a history of labor violations, especially those with large low-wage workforces. The order also creates a Mayor's Office of Worker Power and calls for information sharing among city, state, and federal enforcement agencies.
DCWP has already been active. In July the agency announced $2.1 million in restitution for more than 1,600 workers from Walgreens, Allstar Security, Calzedonia, and Kinship Coffee, for Fair Workweek and Protected Time Off violations, and said it had recovered more than $10.1 million since January.
Impact
Fair Workweek employers in retail and fast food: missing the 72-hour schedule notice was a core finding in both July Fair Workweek settlements, and it compounds per worker per week. Earned Safe and Sick Time applies to every employer with at least one employee. A records audit costs a few hours. An investigation that looks back across your whole workforce costs far more.
Editorial note
The Weekly Rundown is informational reporting, not legal advice. Fine ranges and deadlines are drawn from official NYC and NYS agency publications and established reporting as of the week covered. Laws change; verify the specific citation linked on each story before making a compliance decision. Quantitative impact estimates are modeled against a typical NYC small business and will vary by size, sector, and address.