Andrew Yang Joins Local Bar & Restaurant Owners in Call for Ending Arbitrary or Inconsistent Rules Stifling Service Industry

At today’s event: Daniel Abrams and Cindy Smith, Co-Owners of the Mermaid Inn; Vijay Dandapani, Head of Hotel Association of NYC; Jeff Katz, Owner of Del Posto Restaurant; Rachel Nelson, Co-Founder of Secret Project Robot; Shane Cookman, General Manager of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group. Said Andrew Yang, “All levels of government should be working together to make it easier for businesses to reopen -- not harder. Restaurants and bars got too little support during the worst of the pandemic. Instead, we should be helping them in every way we can, starting with removing nonsensical regulations. There will not be an NYC recovery until the service industry recovers, and restaurants and bar owners need to know that government will be a partner in their efforts to create jobs and attract tourists. That partnership with small businesses begins here.”

Restaurants and hospitality venues are crucial to the revitalization of our local economies and rebuilding the vibrancy of our neighborhoods. In 2019, NYC’s restaurant industry had 23,650 establishments, provided 317,800 jobs and paid $10.7 billion in total wages in addition to nearly $27 billion in taxable sales. But these establishments are still being hampered by nonsensical regulations.

Yang is calling on the State to: 

Allow for temporary liquor licenses to be granted to businesses in New York City, facilitating immediate job creation. The rest of the state already benefits from this standard, which enables establishments to reopen their doors, re-hire their staff and boost their local economies while waiting for their full license. Allow bars and restaurants to serve customers alcoholic beverages without having to order food. As more and more people are being vaccinated each day and eateries continue to uphold strict social distancing and other safety measures, it is time for this regulation to be revoked, so that bars can return to a rational cost structure and spend money on hiring staff and attracting customers. Allow seating at a bar for patrons in NYC, the same standard as for the rest of the state. The SLA must apply the same standard to New York City bars as those that apply in other parts of the state and permit seating at bars and countertops immediately. Get rid of the arbitrary closing curfew. It is time to allow bars and restaurants to stay open to 4 AM, like before the pandemic. Recently extending the curfew to midnight was a step in the right direction, but remains an arbitrary rule without any scientific basis.  For more information on Andrew Yang’s recovery plan for New York City bars, restaurants and eating establishments, click here.