City Pledges $2M To Struggling Restaurants Offering Fair Wages

NEW YORK, NY — New York City restaurants have been hit hard by social distancing restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, but restaurants who commit to paying their workers a better wage are getting a helping hand from the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the nonprofit One Fair Wage are launching a $3 million program that will benefit restaurants like Hell's Kitchen's Casellula. The West 52nd Street wine bar is one of 100 restaurants participating in the city's new Restaurant Revitalization Program, making it eligible for grants and subsidies in exchange for raising workers' wages within the next five years.

The Mayor's Fund for New York City and Office for Economic Opportunity will contribute $2 million to the program, and One Fair Wage will contribute $1 million through its "High Road Kitchen" program. Restaurants receiving funds are committing to paying workers a full minimum wage in addition to tips. New York City's minimum wage increases to $15 by the end of the year, but employers are allowed to pay workers receiving tips a base wage of $10 per hour.

"High Road Kitchens meets many needs: feeding people, bringing back restaurant jobs, and supporting farmers in the short term," Brian Keyser, the owner of Casellula, said in a statement. "And in the long term we are pushing New York to join the other states that pay tipped workers a full minimum wage and allow the kitchen staff to share in the tips. New York is unfortunately not a leader when it comes to tips."

The Restaurant Revitalization Program is expected to "save" 100 restaurants from the economic impact of the coronavirus and bring 1,000 restaurant employees back to work at pay rates of $20 per hour, New York City First Lady Chirlance McCray said at a Thursday press conference. Restaurant industry workers can also apply for one-time payments of $500 through the program.

The program represents a break from "business as usual" for the restaurant industry and a study of how the industry may evolve to in a post-coroanvirus New York, Toya Williford of the Mayor's Fund to Advance NYC said Thursday.

"Now is the time for change and this program helps us pave a path forward. Our dollars, which we raise with the help of thousands of grassroots donors from all around the country will help ensure workers earn a living wage both now and in the future," Williford said Thursday.

The New York City Hospitality Alliance, which represents more than 24,000 businesses in the city, criticized de Blasio's new program Thursday. The program is tantamount to "dangling short-term monetary relief to financially devastated restaurants," alliance executive director Andrew Rigie said in a statement.

New York City restaurants have operated on a limited basis — takeout and delivery only — since March. The city entered "Phase One" of the state's economic reopening plan this week, which does not include restaurants. Restaurants can begin to reopen, but only for outdoor dining, in "Phase Two." Regions must meet the state's benchmarks for infection rates, hospital capacity and coronavirus testing and tracing for two weeks to move into the next phase.