The al fresco dining experience that started during the pandemic is now permanent, with new rules and an application process for getting a permit.

Carmen Ortiz, owner of Il Violino on the Upper West Side, is going to apply this week to replace the dining shed she had built in the pandemic.

“It’s going to look different, it’s going to be without windows — open,” she said of the new outdoor seating she wants built.

But Ortiz said she’s planning to apply just days before the Saturday application deadline for the city’s new outdoor dining program.

That’s because she wants to avoid taking down the old dining shed, building a new one that complies with new rules, then taking that one down for winter.

“We didn’t see a sense of building a new one now, only for a couple of months or weeks,” Ortiz said.

That may help explain why so few restaurants have sought to apply for new outdoor dining permits.

According to the city Department of Transportation, only 1,516 applications were sent in as of Tuesday, with 906 for sidewalk seating and 610 roadway structures.  

Compare that to the roughly 12,000 outdoor dining structures that went up in the pandemic when there were no fees or rules.

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday explained restaurants that needed outdoor dining during COVID may not need it now.

“Some people see they don’t need the outdoor dining,” he said.  

The permits for curbside and sidewalk seating cost $1,050 each for four years, according to officials. On top of that, restaurants would pay per square foot — as much as $31 for sidewalk space in parts of Manhattan, but cheaper elsewhere.

The new outdoor dining program prohibited curbside sheds and the seating must be open. There are also rules about size and location.

In addition to permits, there’s also the cost of breaking down and storing these structures each winter.

Restaurant consultant Jason Kaplan believes that’s keeping restaurants from applying.

“I’d love to see where they believe that restaurants are going to find all this money to pay all these fees and all these costs that are associated with outdoor dining,” Kaplan said.

Industry experts tell NY1 that they don’t expect every restaurant that put up a dining shed in the pandemic to apply for one under the new program, but they are looking to see how many actually do. A high number would indicate the Adams administration crafted a successful permanent outdoor dining system.

Restaurant owner Manny Colon thought it was worth it. He opened Manny’s Bistro on the Upper West Side during the pandemic.

The dining shed he had built, which he calls “The Chateau,” kept him in business and his workers employed.

“Without this, it would have only been deliveries,” he said. “French food. We’re not big on deliveries.”

Colon said it makes business sense to have roadside dining.

“For me, I’m going to do it. It’ll be half the size of what it is,” he said of his plans for a new curbside dining structure. “But to me, it’s worth it because I’ll have six tables and 12 seats.”

For those that decline to apply by the Aug. 3 deadline. The sheds must come down or face fines of $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second offense.