NYS DOT approves closing of Main Street for outdoor dining at certain times

More good news for downtown Warwick

On Tuesday, June 23, Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard received word from the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) that the village application for Main Street closure had been accepted.

As of this writing the Village was still waiting to hear from the State Liquor Authority about the expanded footprints for restaurants who serve alcohol.

If all goes well the plan, suggested byNewhard, would be to close Main Street and also Railroad Avenue and Spring Street to vehicular traffic from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That would allow restaurants to set up tables on what would effectively be a pedestrian mall. And it would also attract visitors to retail stores.

The first step was to obtain the approval of the Village Board of Trustees and it did that on Monday, June 15.

The next major obstacle was to obtain the approval of the New York DOT since Main Street is actually State Route 94. And the final hurdle is approval by the State Liquor Authority.

On Tuesday the Mid-Hudson Region entered Phase 3 which means restaurants can also resume dining indoors at 50 percent capacity.

“I’m excited,” said Newhard, “The restaurants who will be participating are Fetch, Wolfies, G’s Restaurant, Yesterday’s, Eddies Roadhouse, Blarney Station, Conscious Habitat, Grappa, Fannies, Halligan’s and Fratello’s.”

Michael Johndrow, executive director of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce, also pointed out that there are many restaurants such as but not limited to Viviano’s, Warwick Thai, The Warwick Inn and Coquito that already have parking areas and the like available for outdoor dining.