Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that New York restaurants could increase their indoor dining capacity from the current 25 to 35 percent from next Friday, February 26. The shift comes after internal meals returned to New York on February 12, when Cuomo cited the continued decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as reasons for reopening.
In recent weeks, some New York restaurant owners have asked the state to increase capacity to 50%. The five neighborhoods are the only areas in the state of New York that do not have indoor meals at half capacity, although the Cuomo administration has continually cited the density of the city and the fact that it was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 as reasons to move more slowly in the city.
Still, this is the largest capacity restaurant that will be able to accommodate customers indoors since the state’s first restaurant and bar closed in March last year. Restaurant groups such as the New York City Hospitality Alliance have been calling for an accelerated opening in the city, pointing to the lack of government support and the growing crisis in rental properties, raising fears of more permanent closings in the coming months if the deal fails.
Although COVID-19 statistics show a general downward trend, the city’s positivity rate is 7.29 percent over an average of seven days, compared to last summer, when it was hovering at the one percent mark and restaurants and bars were restricted to outdoor dining. Cases have also declined, but the city is still registering more than 3,000 cases daily based on an average of seven days. Health experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continue to cite indoor meals as one of the activities most at risk for the spread of the virus, and recently warned of a spike in cases again due to a mix of reopens. throughout the country and the presence of new variants of COVID-19.
When he decided to reopen the covered dinner earlier this month, Cuomo cited the need to weigh commercial interests and public health concerns. The governor ended up judging it more necessary to start reopening. The decision came at a time when more New Yorkers are being vaccinated, although many restaurant workers have not yet been vaccinated, and even those who received them have only received the first dose so far. While many restaurant owners are eager to open and some workers want a fixed wage, other owners and workers have expressed concern about returning while the majority of the population is still without vaccines.
When NYC starts dining indoors at 35% capacity, it will join New Jersey, which announced in early February that it will reopen its cafeterias with the same capacity. Recently, Cuomo postponed the restaurant’s curfew from 10pm to 11pm, although many in the industry want it to be postponed to 12pm