DineOut NYC is a pro bono initiative created by Rockwell Group, in coordination with Melba Wilson, President of the New York City Hospitality Alliance & Owner, Melba’s Restaurant, and Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. The program launched Summer 2020 to advocate for the further use of sidewalks and streets for outdoor dining and to help restaurants affected by the indoor dining closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To encourage the City to expand outdoor dining, Rockwell Group and the New York City Hospitality Alliance identified six restaurants across the five boroughs to present different types of dining experiences, ultimately creating a kit of adaptable parts that we have made available free of charge on our website. The program has since grown to include communal outdoor dining, the development of restaurant partitions, and a winter heating initiative. Pilot Locations: The Alliance chose six restaurants, with varying street conditions, to test the system: Melba’s in Harlem; Ceetay and Hudson Smokehouse in the Bronx; Negril BK in Brooklyn; Pa-Nash in Queens; and The Craft House and Kills Boro Brewing Company in Staten Island. Located in diverse neighborhoods across the five boroughs, the pilot locations provided real templates for establishments that attempting to utilize sidewalks and street spaces. Inspired by open-air cafes, and drawing on our modular work and experience designing restaurants, the prototype addressed flooring, barriers, shading, lighting, and furniture as well as space for sanitation and restaurant equipment. Communal Dining: Leveraging New York City’s Open Streets initiative, we identified communities severely impacted by COVID-19, where there was the greatest need for restaurants to reopen safely and to provide dining opportunities that accommodate multiple restaurants on the same block. Working with New York City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Chinatown BID/Partnership, Rockwell Group installed DineOut NYC’s first communal dining space in lower Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood. Since Chinese restaurants were hard-hit in the early stages of the pandemic, we developed a bigger initiative on Mott Street, Chinatown’s unofficial “Main Street.” A full block closure accommodates multiple restaurants and creates new public space for residents to safely gather. Two communal DineOut NYC sites followed in Queens, which has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in New York City, disproportionately affecting its residents, many of whom are immigrants and low-income essential service workers, and straining its hospitals. The locations receive heavy foot traffic from nearby first responders from Elmhurst Hospital and commercial centers, Diversity Plaza and the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street subway station complex. As a result of these successful openings, Rockwell Group was approached by the Third Avenue Business Improvement District and The Bronx Community Foundation to partner on two communal dining installations on Alexander and Willis Avenues in the South Bronx. Dining Partitions: As part of the development of our DineOut NYC modules, Rockwell Group designed custom transparent screens that allow restaurants to safely group diners and tables closer together, indoors and out. These minimal, lightweight plexiglass screens revive the density, energy, and intimacy that make dining out so special and vital, and help restaurants serve more guests simultaneously. The 3/8” screens have rounded and flamed, tapered edges and are designed to withstand 50 mph winds. Vertical struts and gaskets support the plexiglass for a rattle-free experience. Each screen sits in an elegant horizontal aluminum base at 16 inches off the ground—placing the screen at the minimal height requirement for health and safety while maintaining efficiency. We designed the screens to virtually disappear, allowing food, company, and atmosphere to shine. Winter Heating: The success of DineOut and outdoor dining in general inspired us to help restaurants continue to offer the experience through the colder months. In coordination with the DOT, DineOut NYC identified the ‘Open Streets’ that were deeply in need of heating for outdoor dining. Funding partner Pershing Square Capital Management allowed DineOut NYC to install heating equipment at the existing DineOut design in Chinatown and a new communal area in Upper Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood.