A group of restaurant owners and workers gathered in New York City to rally against a new dining ban in the city and demand more support for an industry hobbled by months of restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are rallying for rent relief, PPP, grants, local and state funding programs, insurance relief, and help from our local leaders,” the New York State Latino Restaurant, Bar, and Lounge Association said in a statement before the Tuesday rally.
Restaurant workers in NYC: pic.twitter.com/Uot97MOlWC
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) December 15, 2020
Association President Jeffrey Garcia took the stage during the event to demand that Gov. Andrew Cuomo allow their businesses to reopen, citing that the governor’s own statistics show restaurants and bars account for only 1.4% of virus spread in the nation’s largest city.
After the event at Times Square, people at the rally planned a march to Cuomo’s office in Murray Hill.
The event came a day after Cuomo’s latest indoor dining ban took effect, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned residents to prepare for even more restrictions “quite soon.”
“What is increasingly clear is that all forms of restrictions have to be on the table at this point,” de Blasio said. “At the current rate we are going, you have to be ready now for a full shutdown, a pause like we had back at the end of the spring.”
The mayor said the city is working closely with the state and that the decision for more restrictions would fall on Cuomo.
“That is increasingly necessary just to break the back of this second wave, to stop this second wave from growing, to stop it from taking lives,” de Blasio said.
Cuomo seemingly echoed de Blasio’s warning Monday, saying the only way to avoid a new shutdown was to “change the trajectory” of the virus.
“What you should worry about is shutdown because if we do not change the trajectory, we could very well be headed for shutdown,” Cuomo said.
New York City’s restaurant industry is still struggling to bounce back from the harsh spring restrictions, with the city losing about one-quarter of its small businesses since the onset of the pandemic.
“It’s devastating how many restaurants have shuttered and jobs have been lost,” said Andrew Rigie of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, which represents bars and restaurants in New York City. “And with the infection rate rising and the looming threat of indoor dining closing again, many more will close unless the government provides adequate support to these small businesses.”
Despite the ominous warning, de Blasio tried to reassure residents that any new restrictions would only be in place for “a matter of weeks.”
A Washington Examiner request for comment from de Blasio’s office was not immediately returned.
