Cuomo Teases NYC Indoor Dining Reopening Plan This Week

NEW YORK CITY — A long-awaited plan to reopen indoor dining in New York City could be served later this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

The New York City-only ban on indoor dining amid coronavirus fears has created difficulties for its restaurant industry, Cuomo acknowledged on Wednesday.

He said he’ll be talking with local officials and restaurant leaders about potentially reopening and what percent capacity.

“We’ll have an announcement by the end of the week but we’re looking at going back to the 25 percent… would be the question and how and when you do that,” he said.

The coming reopening plan came as welcome news to Andrew Rigie, executive director for the NYC Hospitality Alliance, a restaurant industry group that has pushed for bringing back indoor dining.

Rigie, in a statement, argued that limited occupancy indoor dining has been a “minor factor” for spreading the coronavirus. Instead, the full shutdown has permanently shuttered thousands of bars and restaurants and put more than 140,000 New Yorkers out of work, he said.

“We’re happy that Governor Cuomo heard the voice of New York City’s decimated restaurant industry and we look forward to working towards a plan that hopefully reopens indoor dining soon,” he said. “As the Governor acknowledged, it’s paramount these decisions are based on data. And, because New York City has lower infection and hospitalization rates than nearly all counties in the rest of the state where indoor dining is open at 50% occupancy, our city’s restaurants must be treated equitably and reopened safely.”

Cuomo’s hints about reopening is a change from recent statement from both himself and Mayor Bill de Blasio that cast doubt on reopening indoor dining even as coronavirus numbers improved across the state.

Indoor dining returned in September only to be halted by early December as the city and state contended with a holiday season spike in COVID-19 cases.

Cuomo said New York City’s density makes indoor dining — which is allowed elsewhere across the state, albeit with capacity limits — a “different situation.” But he said he wanted to ease the strain on restaurants.

“I want to get them up and running as quickly as possible,” he said.

Whatever shape or timeline the reopening plan will take when it’s finally announced, it appears unlikely that the current 10 p.m. state-imposed closing time will lift. Many restaurant owners hope the time will be moved to midnight.

Cuomo said keeping restaurants open late leads to problematic crowding and drinking — both of which could lead to situations in which the coronavirus spreads.

“With restaurants, we’re trying to keep it to actual eating as opposed to the restaurant turning into a bar,” he said. “So at this time, no, we are not changing the curfew at this time.”