Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that indoor dining in New York City will be allowed to reopen partially on Valentine’s Day if positive rates of COVID-19 remain stable.
“Update on indoor dining in NYC: If positivity rates hold we will reopen indoor dining at 25% capacity on Valentine’s Day – February 14,” Cuomo tweeted. “In addition to reduced capacity, mandatory safety guidelines will be in place.”
Update on indoor dining in NYC:
If positivity rates hold we will reopen indoor dining at 25% capacity on Valentine's Day – February 14.
In addition to reduced capacity, mandatory safety guidelines will be in place.
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 29, 2021
Cuomo and Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently doubled down on their commitment to keep indoor dining in the city closed. Cuomo said Monday that “the indoor dining in New York City is a New York City-specific condition,” and that authorities were “not, at this point, contemplating any changes.”
“We’re obviously the biggest city in the country. An incredibly densely packed place. We were the epicenter of this crisis,” de Blasio said of the closures. “We lost tens of thousands of New Yorkers. We’re going to be really careful and smart about when we let people get back together in close proximity with their masks off because they’re eating and drinking.”
De Blasio also urged New Yorkers to “bundle up” and “stay warm out there.”
The NYC Hospitality Alliance issued a statement in which they wrote:
Governor Cuomo’s never-ending restrictions keeping indoor dining closed at New York City restaurants, while keeping it open around the rest of the state where infection and hospitalization rates are higher than in New York City is discriminatory and is destroying the livelihoods of small business owners and workers. Multiple legal actions have been filed to reopen indoor dining in New York City and we are exploring all additional legal options on behalf of the city’s restaurant industry to ensure equitable treatment and application of the Governor’s Executive Orders.
New York’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the restaurant industry in New York City. Restaurant owners filed a class-action lawsuit against Cuomo last fall.
As The Daily Wire reported Sept. 10:
According to the New York Daily News, Cuomo explained that there will be strict measures governing restaurants that choose to reopen. Restaurants must remain at 25% capacity, maintain six feet between tables, take patrons’ temperatures, log their contact information, shutter walk-up bar service, and close by midnight.
“Opening restaurants, I understand the economic benefit and I understand the economic pressure they’ve been under,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo’s announcement follows a $2 billion class-action lawsuit against him, claiming he is violating the constitutional rights of the more than 300,000 people employed in the city’s restaurant industry.
In December, hundreds of restaurant workers attended a protest in Times Square against Cuomo’s renewed ban on indoor dining.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Newsweek reported that the New York State Latino Restaurant, Bar and Lounge Association (NYSRBLA) organized the protest, which came the day after Cuomo announced a new ban on indoor dining that would start on December 14. Restaurants would still be able to provide outdoor dining, but as winter approaches in the city, many restaurant owners have said that will be impossible.
“This city is killing us. You’re hurting a lot of New Yorkers,” said Tony Herbert, who represented the New York Multicultural Restaurant and Nightlife Chamber of Commerce, according to the outlet.
“We’ve got to protect everybody, but we also have to understand that our restaurants are one of the most important avenues of small business in our city,” Herbert added. “So, I say to the governor, I say to the mayor, get your act together now. We need our restaurants open now.”
Related: WATCH: Cuomo Tells Restaurant Owners: Be ‘Happy’ I’ve Shut Down Indoor Dining