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Five blocks from the consulate, friends Katie O’Brien, 38, and Lauren Meyer, 39, arrived armed with hand sanitizer, hot water bottles and hand warmers to slip into their gloves. They were happy to hear that the restaurant provided blankets, which they wrapped around themselves while drinking wine at a table near the entrance. When the burgers appeared, they took off their gloves and put them back on between bites.
“I decided that if I really wanted to go out, I just have to accept that it’s going to be cold,” said Ms. O’Brien, who was celebrating her birthday.
The two had looked at over a dozen restaurants for seats that weren’t closed and provided enough space between tables, wanting to be as safe as possible.
Being social while being careful is on the minds of many customers as the number of coronavirus cases in New York City rises. While the outbreak was not as devastating as the one the city experienced last spring, the death rate slowly rose in January to around 60 people a day, and more than 50 postcodes in the five boroughs show a positive test rate greater than 10 percent.
The city has also struggled with a slow rollout of vaccines. In New York City, home to about 8.5 million people, only about 532,000 initial doses have been administered. Recently, a vaccine shortage has forced health officials to postpone scheduled appointments to a later date.
Still, New Yorkers want to get out. In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Maria Myrtil spotted the Sweet Brooklyn Bar & Grill to see if it had security protocols in place before booking Sunday to sit with friends in a small plastic enclosure resembling a tiny tight.
Ms Myrtil, 28, approved of the layout, which included a table heater. However, she adjusted her approach to ordering.
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