Clarkstown, NY Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Clarkstown's Neighborhood Shopping (NS) District treats outdoor dining as a conditional use requiring a special permit from the Planning Board, not a use permitted by right, under § 290-7.4G(2). The use only qualifies if it is "incidental to and in conjunction with an established permitted restaurant, cafe or delicatessen," and the Planning Board must find it causes no deleterious effect on public health, safety or welfare and no negative effect on adjoining businesses before granting the permit.

Once approved, the operator faces several fixed conditions: the Planning Board may restrict hours for music or sound equipment that could affect nearby properties; all furnishings must be removed daily whenever the indoor establishment is closed or the outdoor area is not in daily use; alcohol service outdoors requires written approval from the New York State Liquor Authority filed with the Building Inspector before the permit issues, and all drinks must be prepared indoors; patrons must be seated at a table to be served; the outdoor area is capped at six patrons as of midnight following an evening of service; and every outdoor dining setup, tables and chairs included, must be cleared from the area by 1:00 a.m. Outdoor cabarets, and any outdoor dining paired with a cabaret use, are flatly prohibited in the district.

These conditions apply specifically within the NS District, which covers Neighborhood Shopping-zoned parcels along corridors like U.S. Route 9W in Clarkstown; sidewalk cafes elsewhere in town fall under the site plan and use conditions of their own district rather than this section.