New York City is considering expanding outdoor dining licenses — giving restaurants the privilege of using public sidewalks to grow their businesses. But restaurants are the only businesses in the city still allowed to pay a subminimum wage. If they want access to public space that no other business receives, they should meet the same standard every other business already meets: paying a full minimum wage with tips on top.
Tipped restaurant workers in New York City have a median annual income of just $23,598 — while the MIT Living Wage Calculator puts the cost of living for a single person at over $65,000. The seven states that already require full wages with tips on top see faster restaurant growth, higher worker incomes, and half the rate of sexual harassment in the industry. One Fair Wage's March 2026 report shows the city can begin lifting wages for over 55,000 tipped workers in full-service restaurants — at an average cost of less than $44,000 per establishment.
One job should be enough. No public space for poverty pay.