Mayor de Blasio appears to be reconsidering plans to reopen restaurants for indoor dining next week, citing a busy first week for outdoor dining in NYC and a national surge in novel coronavirus cases. Gov. Cuomo also indicated that indoor dining may be postponed at a press conference later in the morning.
In a press conference on Monday, the New York City mayor said that his office would be examining whether it still made sense to include indoor dining rooms in NYC’s third phase of reopening, which is set to get underway July 6. “We can go into phase three on all the other fronts, but the indoor we really need to examine closely and come to a decision in the next couple of days,” de Blasio said.
Mayor de Blasio attributed the decision to a growing number of novel coronavirus cases nationally. Though he did not cite NYC specifically — where cases remain roughly flat — 311 complaints about social distancing have surged in recent weeks, as local revelers have flocked to bars and restaurants in popular neighborhoods across the city, often without masks.
Roughly 2,500 social distancing complaints were registered during the weekends beginning in June 11 and June 18, according to city data analyzed by the New York Post. The bulk of those violations occurred in Manhattan, with the most violations in the West Village, Upper East Side, and Soho neighborhoods.
“The facts have been worrisome,” de Blasio said during the press conference. “In the course of this week it got worse and worse around the country. We have an issue here.”
Nationally, novel coronavirus cases are on the rise, an upward trend that appears to have almost directly coincided with the reopening of businesses. In states like Texas, Florida, and parts of Idaho, officials have taken measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, including closings bars and restaurants for indoor seating, limiting restaurant capacity, and banning the on-site consumption of alcohol.
The indecision over whether or not to proceed with indoor dining leaves restaurants and bars — many of whom are buying extra materials, stocking up food inventory, and re-hiring staff ahead of time — stuck in a difficult position. “While we’ll defer to the public health officials for preventing another spike in cases as we’re seeing in other states and cities across the nation, our small businesses urgently need certainty and immediate support on rent, expanded outdoor dining and other responsive policies if they are to have any real chance of survival and recovery,” NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie said in a statement.
In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Gov. Cuomo said that his office was reconsidering indoor dining for NYC, as well, and would have a decision as early as Wednesday. While outdoor dining appears to be “going well,” according to slides in the governor’s presentation, he says that indoor dining may still not be safe due to social distancing violations and a lack of local enforcement.
Update, 2:36 p.m.: This story has been updated with comments from the NYC Hospitality Alliance’s executive director.
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June 29, 2020 at 11:23PM
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Coronavirus in NYC: Indoor Dining May Not Return to NYC This Week - Eater NY
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