By The SATimes News Service
Almost exactly six months after the citywide restaurant shutdown, New York governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that New York City restaurants will soon be able to welcome people back inside. Cuomo announced that indoor dining will return to the five boroughs on September 30, at a reduced capacity of 25 percent, with additional restrictions. “Opening restaurants, I understand the economic benefit and I understand the economic pressure that they’ve been under,” Cuomo said in a press conference. Later adding, “We’ve been speaking with stakeholders, we’ve been working on this issue everyday.”
Restaurants that do reopen will have to follow rules including temperature checks for all guests, a requirement that one member of every party leaves information for contact tracing, and keep tables six feet apart and ensure guests wear masks whenever they’re not at their table. All restaurants will also have to close at midnight, follow air filtration requirements, and won’t be allowed to offer bar service. Cuomo also says they’ll beef up enforcement, with the state expanding the SLA and State Police Task Force and the city providing 400 code-enforcement inspectors.
