Cuomo promises to open New York restaurant halls, but under tight police control

Opening restaurants has worried many New Yorkers over the past weeks. Recently, the governor of the state has clarified this topic more. He said that it is necessary for the establishments to start receiving visitors not on the street, but inside their halls. The edition writes about it Secret nyc.

Restaurants in all regions of New York began hosting guests indoors in the third phase of the removal of restrictions imposed by the pandemic. However, this did not affect New York City - the authorities said they were forced to cancel the long-awaited opening of restaurants for security.

Mayor Bill de Blasio even hinted at the beginning of September that restaurants might not start operating at full capacity until 2021. He made such a categorical statement because it is restaurants that are the main source of the spread of coronavirus.

According to the latest data, restaurants in New York will begin to welcome visitors inside their premises when the guidelines focused on the fight against COVID-19 are better adhered to. State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this on September 3 during a virtual press conference. He noted that he will allow the opening of the inner halls of restaurants, if he receives any guarantees of compliance with social distancing protocols. “I would like to see restaurants open, but there are some buts,” he said. "But" are rules and guidelines for rediscovery that are only as good as they are followed. "

Cuomo pointed to the problems identified during the inspection of city bars and restaurants. In particular, on violations by establishments identified by agents of the State Liquor Authority this summer. “I'm going to tell the restaurant association, which is desperate to open up, that I understand the economic pressure. But can you please tell me how we are going to do this? How will we monitor compliance with (safety rules. - Ed.)? After all, what happened in the bars is terrible, ”Cuomo said.

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As writes edition GothamistThe governor issued such a statement the day after City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said it was "time" to allow indoor dining.

Cuomo responded to the pressure from Johnson, noting that he would only reopen indoor restaurants in the city if NYPD became more involved in enforcing social distancing guidelines. He said he would instruct Johnson to personally assemble a task force of "4000 police officers to handle this."

The restaurant business in New York City was hit hard during the quarantine. In this regard, local politicians, representing the interests of restaurateurs, are increasing pressure on both the mayor of the city and the governor of the state.

The governor admitted that the economic damage during the pandemic was "extreme" for restaurant owners, but "I don't want to be in a situation where we open thousands of restaurants and can't control them."

Other local politicians, including State Senator Andrew Gounardes, City Councilor Justin Brannan, and State Senator Jessica Ramos have also called for restaurants to be allowed indoors.

Earlier this week, Queens, which was joined by hundreds of others, filed a $ 2 billion class action lawsuit against New York City seeking permission to host.

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But even if the restaurateurs get their way and the governor allows the establishments to return to full-time work, this will not help many of them get out of the crisis. The clientele of most restaurants has dropped dramatically. The picture is truly bleak, with a new report released by the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) saying that two-thirds of New York City restaurants are likely to close by the end of the year without a comprehensive relief package. Half of these restaurants said they are likely to close by November 2020.

NYSRA is actively advocating for a bipartisan federal RESTAURANTS Act that will create a $ 120 billion fund to help local restaurants.

It is worth noting that last week restaurants in New Jersey again began to receive guests indoors, but with one condition: their occupancy cannot exceed 25%.
In other areas of New York State, partial catering in enclosed spaces is permitted since the entry into the fourth phase.

The final decision to reopen the restaurants in New York City will be announced in late September.