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An empty restaurant is seen in New York. (Photo by Jeenah Moon / Getty Images)
To the press room
UPDATE 10:10 a.m. PT – Friday, January 1, 2021
New York restaurateurs have filed several lawsuits in recent weeks in an attempt to restore their businesses, which were largely shut down during the pandemic.
The most recent complaints were filed this week, with restaurant owners saying they were frustrated with frequent rule changes that prevent them from offering indoor dining. Many of these restaurants operate in the orange zones of the state, which limits businesses to alfresco dining, take-out, or delivery.
With the state’s forecast putting temperatures just above freezing, alfresco dining is optional.
The owners have argued that the standards for the Orange Zone restrictions continue to change, basing closures on positive COVID-19 cases one day, and then on available hospital beds the next. They also said data shows less than 1.5% of the spread of COVID-19 is due to restaurants, with a majority of the spread blamed on private gatherings.
“The question is therefore the following: these extreme actions of closure, essentially closing these restaurants for meals in service, meals on site, is it reasonable in these circumstances? The economic impact on the business owner and all employees is reasonable given the extremely low transmission rate, ”asked lawyer Adam Gee.
A group of about 40 restaurant owners from upstate New York have filed a lawsuit to allow their business to reopen. Reports say a judge is asking the state to come to a compromise or provide the scientific evidence to support the restrictions.
“It is wreaking havoc personally, with my family, with my children. You know Christmas this year has been extremely difficult, almost embarrassing. I felt ashamed like I almost couldn’t, you know, afford to take care of my family, ”said Brandon Carr, owner of the neighborhood. “We still have to find a way to replenish all our food, find new staff, come up with new payroll systems and everything.
In New York City, the hospitality alliance argued that a ban on eating inside was doing more harm than good, saying a thousand restaurants had closed and tens of thousands of jobs in the area had been lost.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (DN.Y.) office has reportedly said the state faces several lawsuits over the restrictions.
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