New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that indoor dining in New York City can resume from February 12, Friday, two days earlier than planned - due to requests by restaurants and bars who want to prepare for Valentine’s Day. 

In a recent press release, Cuomo said “We were planning to open the restaurants in New York City to indoor dining on Valentine's Day, but restaurant owners made the point that they'd like to open a couple of days earlier so they can prepare for Valentine's Day. That's a reasonable request, so we'll start indoor dining on Friday at 25 percent so the restaurants can get ready.”

The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has had a hefty impact on the hospitality industry in New York. Bars and restaurants were restricted to outdoor dining with limited seating, takeaways, and deliveries since December 2020. 

However, as reported by Governor Cuomo, the closure of indoor dining along with the introduction of the vaccine has caused quite a positive decline in the number of cases in the city. "Not only have we administered more than two million doses of the vaccine, but the infection rate continues to decrease and New Yorkers should feel good about that” Cuomo adds, praising New Yorkers for their cooperation. 

“After all, this was possible because of their actions, their discipline, and their sacrifice. As we move forward, we're continuing to respond to the facts and data every day, and when the enemy changes tactics, we change with the enemy.”

Establishments that open in the city on Friday will indeed have to follow restrictions and Covid-19 protocols put in by the government such as temperature checks, the spacing between tables, and operating on 25% capacity only. Meanwhile, outside New York City, other restaurants across the state are allowed to operate at 50% capacity. 

Many restaurant owners and city council members are also spurring Cuomo to allow 50% capacity within restaurants in the city. In a recent letter from city council members, they expressed their concerns about 25% capacity for indoor dining not being enough for restaurants to survive. “We are facing a different reality than we were in September when outdoor dining was thriving,” the letter said. 

One of the main reasons expressed by council members was the change in weather. “Temperatures in the city are falling below freezing levels with severe winter weather forecasted over the next several days. How can the restaurants in our district survive on outdoor dining alone during these treacherous winter conditions?”. According to the letter, and as reported by many restaurant and bar owners, restaurants throughout the five boroughs have seen a decline in outdoor dining by approximately 60-80 percent in the recent weeks. 

Even though 25% capacity isn’t going to get restaurants back to where they were, it is still a positive start to the year, and we can only hope for better things ahead.

Header Image Courtesy: NYTimes