Valley Stream opens Rockaway Ave. to on-street dining for summer weekends

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Starting today, June 19 and lasting throughout the summer, Valley Stream is closing Rockaway Avenue from 4 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays to allow for on-street dining.

The move comes a week and a half after Nassau County entered Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan, which allows for outdoor dining. With Long Island continuing to meet its infection benchmarks, Nassau is slated to enter Phase 3 of reopening, which will open up restaurants to indoor dining, but at reduced capacity, on June 24.

It also comes roughly three weeks after Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced she was fast-tracking permits for local municipalities to close county roads, and place tables and chairs on the streets to bring at least some business back to the county’s beleaguered restaurants, which have been forced to switch to take-out only since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in late March.

Village officials said businesses are required to apply for permits to take advantage of on-street dining, but that fees would be waived.

"We have been working very hard to help our small businesses any way we can," Trustee John Tufarelli said. "This pandemic has been very tough on them and we continue to remind everyone to shop locally whenever possible."