Republican Minority Leader in the State Assembly, William Barkley, and a group of his fellow party deputies from both chambers introduced a resolution calling for the repeal of Andrew Cuomo’s orders, which, according to the authors of the document, harm the restaurant business in the state.
Their demands relate to two provisions of the governor’s decree. One of them forces restaurants and bars to close no later than 11 pm. Another obliges visitors to order food along with alcoholic drinks.
“Now is the time to listen to common sense and help an industry that has been hit so hard during the pandemic,” said William Barkley. “Republicans are opposed to measures in a governor’s order that unnecessarily cause additional damage to small businesses and the state’s economy.”
According to the New York State Restaurant Association, one in six restaurants in the state has been forced to close due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In New York City, the situation looks even worse: every third restaurant has ceased to exist. About 160 thousand workers in this industry lost their jobs. Meanwhile, in the opinion of the governor’s opponents, the restrictions were excessive. The figures used by Cuomo himself confirm that in December, the transmission of infection in restaurants amounted to only
1.43% of all reported cases. State policy has been challenged in the courts. A state Supreme Court judge ruled that about 100 restaurants in County Erie were subject to unreasonable restrictions. In addition, there is no information that there is any difference in coronavirus infection before or after 11 pm.
“And the requirement for bar patrons to order food for drinks sounded ridiculous from the very beginning,” said Assembly MP Ed Ra. – COVID-19 infection rating is falling. More and more New Yorkers are being vaccinated. It makes sense to remove the “curfew” in restaurants. We take a balanced approach. Visitors are still required to follow the masking and social distancing protocol. But it is high time to get rid of senseless prohibitions and move our economy forward ”.
Governor Cuomo announced that curfews will be lifted on April 5 for casinos, billiard rooms, bowling alleys and gyms. Republicans in the State Assembly are calling for the abolition of curfews for restaurants.
Newspaper headline:
“It’s time to get rid of meaningless prohibitions”