The New York City Council held a hearing on Feb. 8 on whether to make outdoor sidewalk dining, which was a temporary measure during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, a permanent fixture in the city’s dining scene. Outdoor dining sheds were built by many NYC restaurant owners to help blunt the economic impact of the virus as they struggled to survive the government-mandated lockdowns. The outdoor sheds were first permitted by the city on a temporary basis under an “Open Restaurants” initiative at the height of the pandemic and after severe capacity restrictions were imposed. The NYC Department of Transportation (DoT) is in charge of overseeing the temporary outdoor dining facilities. Restaurateurs set up tens of thousands of makeshift structures of plywood and plastic sheeting, with some including lighting and space heaters that became more elaborate as the pandemic went on. Many sheds are still frequently used to …