A Streetery Scene in Shambles
Exactly zero streetery submissions will be reviewed this month, though a recent bill may change that
The pandemic was one of the shittiest times in the lives of many people for variety of reasons, myself included. Within the first few months of lockdown, I had shaved my own head, quit smoking cigs (please clap), and averaged approximately a dozen existential crises per day. Having just left a stable job weeks prior to the world shutting down, one of the only things that allowed my mind some relief was trekking around the city in what was mostly a ghost town in the early months.
The eeriness of having the city to myself on many of these long walks was thankfully broken up once the dining scene made its way back outside, offering a respite beyond the borders of my home to enjoy some food and beverage. As an unemployed, clear-lunged dude with a questionable haircut, these new dining spots popping up everywhere across the city were some of the most important places in town for me outside of the hospitals and health centers. In fact, these walks, which were usually punctuated by quenching my thirst in a new part of the city, helped solidify my lust for Philadelphia and my desire to explore and learn more. And I surely wasn’t alone, as streets across the city were changed from being places for cars to being places for people.
Of course, we all know that Philly can’t have nice things easily. After some safety concerns due to the unregulated nature of these mostly home-spun structures, the City decided to tighten control over outdoor dining, functionally leading to the dismantling of nearly every single structure that had gone up. Recently, Pennsylvania has jumped in to make streeteries permanent, recognizing their importance to both diners and restaurant owners.
Which leads us to today. We decided to check on the most recent round of streetery submissions for this month’s upcoming Sign and Streetery Committee meeting of the Art Commission, only to find something wildly disappointing:
There are none.
What once numbered in the hundreds in virtually every neighborhood you could think of, now only 22 “official” streeteries are back up and functioning across the city. It seems as if the desire to tighten control for safety/cleanliness/noise/parking has led to a drastic swing of the pendulum. The rules were rather onerous, requiring a lot of time/money/effort for what ends up being a relatively small space for additional seating. While we understand the desire to keep an eye on things for safety reasons, it sure seems as if the entire approach was fumbled.
Will we see a return to the outdoor dining culture that seemed to be universally beloved? Or will we see the continued tightening of bureaucratic control slowly lead to the disappearance of this former staple? If this most recent round of submissions is any indication, it seems as if the latter is more likely to happen, sadly. We hope that the recent push by Councilmember Rue Landau to ease the submission process helps move the needle in the opposite direction, as we would gladly trade a few hundred parking spaces for a few hundred dining spots. But until something is done to streamline this process - and fast - it is unlikely we will see a full return of the al fresco dining scene we all grew to love.