Cuomo the grinch did so just in time for the holidays, when restaurants were hoping to make up for at least some of the revenue they have lost this year.
"The situation continues to get more and more dire, and the shutting down of indoor dining during the holidays, when New York City restaurants are providing the safety measures, is the straw that broke the camel's back," Jeffrey Garcia, president of the New York State Latino Restaurant Bar and Lounge Association, said at the protest.
During this same period, when New York City's restaurants were open for indoor service at 25 percent capacity, restaurants and bars accounted for merely 1.43 percent of the spread. Cuomo's reckless elimination of indoor restaurant dining will drive more New Yorkers to attend private household social gatherings during the holidays, exacerbating the worst source of the coronavirus spread. Somehow, outdoor restaurant dining in subfreezing temperatures is not very appetizing.
Why in heaven's name did Cuomo shut down indoor restaurant venues where people could go out and socialize in a safer environment than if they did so at someone's home? Cuomo could have chosen to keep his 25 percent capacity restriction in place for New York City, coupled with mandating certain safety measures such as the installation of air filtration systems suitable to protect restaurant patrons and staff from COVID-19.
Even though coronavirus positivity rates in other parts of New York State were higher than in New York City, Cuomo lowered his sledgehammer only on New York City's restaurants.
The 7-day average positivity rate in the Capital Region, including Albany from where Cuomo rules, was 6.2%. Yet Cuomo so far is keeping Albany's restaurants open for indoor dining.
As for the workers in restaurants who are being let go - de Blasio and Cuomo would have them eat the leftover cake from the restaurants forced to go out of business.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Cuomo Wields Imperious Axe Against NYC Restaurants
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