NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said New York City restaurants will be allowed to resume indoor dining at 25% capacity on Valentine's Day.
"The restaurants want a period of time so they can notify workers, they can get up to speed for indoor dining, order supplies, etc." Cuomo said.
The governor said earlier this week that he would talk with Mayor Bill de Blasio, health officials, city lawmakers and leaders in the restaurant community throughout the week to come up with the plan.
Ahead of the governor's announcement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “We’re in an uncertain situation, because of the new variants, because we don’t have all the supply vaccine we should, but I also know, and I really feel, that folks who are trying to make a livelihood, trying to save their businesses, they’re struggling... So the whole idea here is to try to strike the right balance. I know the governor is trying to do it."
De Blasio said the city will work with whatever the governor decides.
Indoor dining was suspended in New York City in December, amid a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. However, restaurants in other parts of the state, including nearby Nassau County, were allowed to operate for indoor dining at 50% capacity.
Since the closure, restaurant owners all over the five boroughs have been lobbying the governor to rollback the restriction, with many arguing that restaurants do not contribute significantly to the spread of the virus.
In Midtown on Friday, restaurants were scraping by with sidewalk shacks, huts and igloos as wind chills hovered in the single digits.
Restaurant owners complain that it’s not fair that restaurants are half-full a stone’s throw away in surrounding suburbs. They want a 50% indoor capacity.
Cuomo and de Blasio had both said they believed closing restaurants for indoor dining amid the spike was the best option given the density of population in New York City.
“I fully understand how difficult it is that they are closed, not just for the restaurants, but for all the people who are employed there,” Cuomo said Wednesday. “On the flip side is how fast this virus can take off.”
The governor also announced Friday the state will allow wedding receptions of up to 150 people or 50 percent of a venue's capacity, whichever is fewer, starting March 15th. All guests must be tested and local health departments must approve.
He tied the two announcements together saying, "I don't want to create any pressure for anyone, especially undo pressure, but here's an idea that you may want to consider. Restaurants are opened on Valentine's Day, you could make a reservation now, or plan. Dinner on Valentine's Day, you propose on Valentine's Day, and then you can have the wedding ceremony March 15, up to 150 people. People will actually come to your wedding because you can tell them with the testing it will be safe."
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