Application type and scope
Sidewalk, roadway, or both — the application type is verified against your FSEP and lease, with the correct forms and fees.
The most rigorous Dining Out NYC application pack a restaurant can send.
PatioClear assembles a documentation-complete Dining Out NYC application pack — every Setup Guide element, every required form, the insurance certificates, and the photo evidence — checked against DOT's current rules before a hospitality-ops reviewer releases it.
Every DOT Setup Guide elementFive application sections, gate-checkedSite plan · insurance · FSEP · photosHospitality-ops reviewer release7-business-day SLA
Why applications fail
A single missing element can pause the entire application.
Every ground-floor NYC restaurant chasing sidewalk or roadway seats has to assemble a Dining Out NYC application that satisfies DOT's Setup Guide, a site-plan form, insurance certificates, ownership and FSEP documentation, and dated photo evidence — then keep it current through community-board review, a public hearing, and, for alcohol, a separate SLA alteration filing. DOT itself attributes roughly 670 of about 919 in-process applications to missing legally required information.
The paperwork falls to whoever on staff has an afternoon free, at restaurants that are already short-staffed and losing curb revenue every week the application sits paused.
PatioClear exists to close that gap with a single, exhaustive standard applied identically to every file.
670 of 919
applications paused for missing legally required information
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the Setup Guide — section by section.
We do not summarize the rules and hope. Every pack is scored against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of DOT's Dining Out NYC Setup Guide. These are the provisions each pack is held to.
Site plan completeness
A DOT site-plan form filled from measurements you provide, with all required elements: dimensions, clearances, and adjacent features.
Insurance certificates
Current general liability and liquor liability certificates, with the City of New York as an additional insured, matching your FSEP.
Ownership and FSEP documentation
Proof of ownership, current FSEP, and lease agreement or landlord consent — all present and consistent.
Photo evidence
Dated photos of the proposed setup, showing compliance with design guidelines, clearances, and accessibility requirements.
Community board and SLA
A calendar for community board review and, for alcohol, a separate SLA alteration filing — sequenced so nothing is missed.
How a pack is built
Intake to reviewer release, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and drafts. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A human hospitality-ops reviewer signs every release. That order is never reversed.
01
Application Gap Scan
Upload your portal status, FSEP, and lease. We return a free completeness read: which Setup Guide elements and forms you already have, and which are missing.
02
Evidence & form assembly
As your authorized clerical agent, we assemble your FSEP record, insurance certificate, lease excerpts, and site photos into a portal-ready binder.
03
Grounded drafting
The application elements are drafted from your validated data and the Setup Guide rule pack into field-locked templates — no legal opinions, no invented facts.
04
Deterministic completeness gates
All required forms are filled; insurance is current and correctly endorsed; photos meet criteria. Any failure blocks release.
05
Reviewer release
A hospitality-ops reviewer reviews the exception queue and signs the release. Complex or contested applications route to attorney review first.
06
Delivery
You receive the pack: gap matrix, assembled evidence binder, corrected drafts, reviewed photo set, DOT site-plan form assist, and a step-by-step upload runbook — ready for you to upload through your own portal login.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Reviewer-released
No pack ships without a human signature.
7 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to released pack.
<1%
Critical-defect target
Tracked against a gold-standard pack library.
5
Application sections
Every section of the Setup Guide, every applicable file.
Why PatioClear
Built to be the most thorough option a restaurant has.
Documentation-complete, by design
The deliverable is completeness itself — every Setup Guide element and form accounted for or explicitly exception-coded. Nothing is left implicit.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A drafting error cannot slip past a statutory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run completeness reviews as your clerical agent. We never contact DOT, give legal advice, or file as your attorney.
Engagement
Flat fee, per released pack. No contingency, ever.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a documentation standard — not contingent on DOT, Comptroller, or SLA approval.
- A free Application Gap Scan before you commit — see exactly what is missing.
- One flat fee per released Completeness Pack; tiered by application type (sidewalk, roadway, or both).
- Optional fixed-fee Rush service for season-cliff cases.
- Optional CAR Response Pack and SLA Alteration Document Prep for ongoing compliance.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is PatioClear a law firm or a permit expediter?
Neither, on purpose. We do not file as your attorney, and we do not stamp drawings. We assemble and complete the documentation your Dining Out NYC application needs, a trained hospitality-ops reviewer signs off on every pack, and we refer contested community-board fights, SLA representation, and DOB/LPC stamps to licensed partners.
What exactly is in a Completeness Pack?
A gap matrix mapping every DOT-required artifact to Present, Missing, or Deficient; corrected drafts and a reviewed photo set; a DOT site-plan form filled from measurements you provide; and a step-by-step upload runbook so you or your counsel can clear the pause.
Do you submit the application to DOT for us?
No — you stay the applicant of record and upload through your own portal login. We build the pack and, if you want it, run a live upload coaching session, but PatioClear never auto-submits anything on your behalf.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is seven business days from complete intake to a reviewer-released pack. The free Gap Scan is returned much sooner and tells you exactly what is still needed.
How does PatioClear pricing work?
Outcome-based, per location, never hourly. A single-location sidewalk application is $1,495 for a Completeness Pack. No contingency and no percentage of any recovered amount or sale proceeds.
See what's missing before it costs you a season.
Start with a free Application Gap Scan. Send your portal status, FSEP, and lease details and we'll return a completeness read against every section of DOT's Setup Guide.
Documentation-completeness service · not legal advice · the restaurant uploads every document.