Indoor Dining in NYC. A Tale of 2 Scrooges

[Mr Roxy]

No matter who you listen to looks like Scrooge is running the city for this holiday season.

Mayor Big Bird says he is in no rush to allow indoor dining. Apparently it will be sometime in January. He seemed to be saying it will be a long long time before there is indoor dining. By than it won't much matter as if his intent was to crush the city economy he will have succeeded.

Cuomo piled on by saying he wants to see numbers go lower,and some other demented reasoning. Between the 2 the original goal of containment has been reached. For some reason they will not be content until the economy of NYC will have been ground into the dirt. Is it any wonder people are fleeing the city in droves.

[carnzee]

Maybe they know more than an 80 year old crank on BWW.

[sabrelady]

Ahhh yer mudder rides a vaccum cleaner!

[Jordan Catalano]

Jesus, Grandpa. Put the Mrs. in the basket of your Jazzy and ride it to Jersey so you can have the joy of sitting at the Olive Garden and not tipping your waitress (because socialism or something) and move on with your life.

Oh but Roxy blocked me so he’ll never see this post.

[Sutton Ross]

It is true that Lurch said there won't be any indoor dining this coming quarter, but understand our numbers are so incredibly low (which is a good thing), and Cuomo simply wants to get them to zero. Again, other states? F*cked. We did the work, Cuomo continues to kick ass, and he gets the final word with dining. But, I do worry because it gets cold outside really soon.

Roxy, don't you live in Long Island? 

[Sutton Ross]

Apparently it will be sometime in January.

It's set for June 1st, actually. 

[BroadwayNYC2]

For the love of god, order takeout and get a life.

[SouthernCakes]

I only care because my restaurant can’t do outdoor seating so I just wonder if they’ll even be able to survive.

[FindingNamo]

"By than it won't much matter as if his intent was to crush the city economy he will have succeeded."

It wasn't. The intent was to stop millions from dying.

Yeah it's hard. Yeah it sucks. Yeah we've lost places and activities we love.

I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that 3000 investment bankers (and the people of color janitorial and security staff) were killed in the twin towers attack in 2001 and there's an ENORMOUS expensive museum that once sold a somber memorial cheese cutting board in its gift shop in the shape of the US with big red stars where terrorist planes crashed.  

But 180,000 US citizens dead in about 6 months of covid? Ho hum. It's some sort of liberal plot to kill the economy? Come on. Where's their museum? Where's their reflecting pool? Where is their cheese cutting board? I do not understand what gets prioritized in this culture.

Why was 9/11 a "never forget" and Covid a "try not to acknowledge?"

 

[SmoothLover]

I thought I heard the mayor say on TV that he had no interest in indoor dining until there was a vaccine and that restaurant dining was for the rich......So if that is where his head is at there is no way he will open theaters until there is a vaccine......I think a lot of folks are waiting to see what happens this fall with Covid and the flu. 
 

The Republicans want everyone to go back to work but people in Entertainment, leisure and dining cannot go back to their trades...meanwhile the folks in the Senate have secure jobs and are paid a pretty penny, living a lifestyle I can only imagine.

[Sutton Ross]

Yeah, a vaccine or June 1st, 2021, whichever comes first. But, most NYC restaurants will have to close if this continues until next year, during the Winter. Every other part of NY allows it and now Jersey is starting to open them back up, it's really sad that people will have to travel outside of NYC to hang out in a restaurant for months to come. 

[FindingNamo]

Restaurants will have to close when they become locations of super spreader events (like the devastation caused by one small wedding in Maine). Why is this framed as "somebody wants to kill restaurants" and not "somebody is trying to stop people from being killed"?

 

[yankeefan7]

My wife and I have eaten out at a few restaurants in NC (indoor & outdoor) and have been fine. Every place all people working have masks on and my wife and I wore ours until we were seated. Servers bringing your food on plates had gloves on. The tables were socially distant due to the limited capacity allowed. The normal menus have been replaced, some places had paper menu and another had limited menu on big white board near every table. There was no cash payment allowed, credit card only. I think dining out can be done properly, you just need to check out and see how particular restaurant is handling the situation.

[Sutton Ross]

Thanks for the story, Yankee, I was wondering how things are going down in NC. Personally, I don't want to eat out at a restaurant where people have gloves and masks on. I think going to dinner is special and it just seems too depressing. I've been supporting them with take out the entire time when I was quarantined in Maine and now back in the city.

There has not been any huge outbreaks at restaurants (in the entire state of NY), so it's not as risky as having a massive indoor wedding or a bitchin rager at a college. It is fine if done right, but considering what NYC went through in early Spring, I completely understand their logic. 

This is a good article on the subject on NY Mag Link

[yankeefan7]

"Thanks for the story, Yankee, I was wondering how things are going down in NC. Personally, I don't want to eat out at a restaurant where people have gloves and masks on. I think going to dinner is special and it just seems too depressing. I've been supporting them with take out the entire time when I was quarantined in Maine and now back in the city. There has not been any huge outbreaks at restaurants (in the entire state of NY), so it's not as risky as having a massive indoor wedding or a bitchin rager at a college. It is fine if done right, but considering what NYC went through in early Spring, I completely understand their logic. This is a good article on the subject on NY Mag Lin"

My wife and I have been doing takeout a bunch also to support the places we enjoy going to for many years. Sadly, our favorite Italian restaurant in Charlotte NC closed up due to the virus after 25 years and it made us very sad. It was family owned business and we started going there when our daughters were little and taking dance classes right around the corner from the place. Personally, I think we are going to see restaurant workers wearing masks for a long time. Thanks for the article.

[Kad]

The indoor dining debate is dancing around the real issue: these businesses need rent relief, period. Whether they are required to be closed, or can open with reduced capacity, they need rent relief.

NY is one of the few success stories of COVID containment in the US, even with missteps (particularly at the start). It is because of these policies. A second wave that looks like what we experienced in the spring would be catastrophic. The wave of premature reopenings in other states in early summer was met with skyrocketing case loads and deaths.

Roxy seems to genuinely hate living in modern New York- he has been forecasting its death for years with glee. He should join the people who have left for suburban pastures.

 

[Sutton Ross]

Agree on everything you said, Kad. I really don't think the government is going to help them out, because it's clear they don't care if small businesses or people survive through this whole thing.

So today BLAH-SIO said he will announce something about indoor dining this month and it could be "as soon as tomorrow". He has flip flopped in this issue so much it's crazy. People want a definitive answer, and I truly hope he gives them one. But it's him so.....

Roxy, please move to the Adirondacks. I think you would enjoy the quiet and the abundance of moose. 

[uncageg]

Mr Roxy said: "No matter who you listen to looks like Scrooge is running the city for this holiday season.

Mayor Big Bird says he is in no rush to allow indoor dining. Apparently it will be sometime in January. He seemed to be saying it will be a long long time before there is indoor dining. By than it won't much matter as if his intent was to crush the city economy he will have succeeded.

Cuomo piled on by saying he wants to see numbers go lower,and some other demented reasoning. Between the 2 the original goal of containment has been reached. For some reason they will not be content until the economy of NYC will have been ground into the dirt. Is it any wonder people are fleeing the city in droves."

 

It's called a virus. It is actually killing people. It doesn't care about our economy. The economy will bounce back at some point and people are going to have to deal with it. We have no choice. Had we been more prepared and our "person in charge" had handled this better, we may have been able to eat inside by now. But I am also suspecting that inside dining in Manhattan poses a bit more of a problem then outside of the city. Airflow seems to be a big factor. It's a new part of life and we have to navigate through it. And a lot of people are not leaving because of covid. Crime is driving a lot of people out also.

[SmoothLover]

When it gets cold, restaurants will have to rely on take out. Warmer states will be able to keep the outside open. Maybe we will see more heat lamps in NY.

[fosterfan2]

FindingNamo said: ""By than it won't much matter as if his intent was to crush the city economy he will have succeeded."

It wasn't. The intent was to stop millions from dying.

Yeah it's hard. Yeah it sucks. Yeah we've lost places and activities we love.

I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that 3000 investment bankers (and the people of color janitorial and security staff) were killed in the twin towers attack in 2001 and there's an ENORMOUS expensive museum that once sold a somber memorial cheese cutting board in its gift shop in the shape of the US with big red stars where terrorist planes crashed.

But 180,000 US citizensdead in about 6 months of covid? Ho hum. It's some sort of liberal plot to kill the economy? Come on. Where's their museum? Where's their reflecting pool? Where is their cheese cutting board? I do not understand what gets prioritized in this culture.

Why was 9/11 a "never forget" and Covid a "try not to acknowledge?"

"

^This. 100%.

[uncageg]

SmoothLover said: "When it gets cold,restaurants will have to rely on take out. Warmer states will be able to keep the outside open. Maybe we will see more heat lamps in NY."

Some restaurants here in Jersey said they have gotten heat lamps. A restaurant near me said they are looking at an outdoor enclosure with air flow.

[Jordan Catalano]

I can’t imagine NYC indoor dining won’t happen very soon. When we can now just get on the train for a few minutes to Jersey City and go to a movie and have dinner, it makes zero sense not to do it as safely as possible here.

[Kad]

uncageg said: "SmoothLover said: "When it gets cold,restaurants will have to rely on take out. Warmer states will be able to keep the outside open. Maybe we will see more heat lamps in NY."

Some restaurants here in Jersey said they have gotten heat lamps. A restaurant near me said they are looking at an outdoor enclosure with air flow."

I've read in some reporting that there are only a few heat lamps that meet NY fire code and they are very costly. I would assume most restaurant owners will be very wary of throwing even more money at this.

[Miles2Go2]

I’m in Oklahoma and haven’t eaten out since March. Only delivery, drive-up or drive-thru or of course cook at home. Our cases haven’t even come close to NY’s, but cases are trending upward again.

Having said that, I will admit I broke into a huge sobbing fit when I learned that due to the pandemic, AquaGrill (one of my favorite places whenever I visited NYC) would not be reopening.

[SmoothLover]

Miles2Go2 said: "I’m in Oklahoma and haven’t eaten out since March. Only delivery, drive-up or drive-thru or of course cook at home. Our cases haven’t even come close to NY’s, but cases are trending upward again.

Having said that, I will admit I broke into a huge sobbing fit when I learned that due to the pandemic, AquaGrill (one of my favorite places whenever I visited NYC) would not be reopening."

The Times said a few months ago that 1200 restaurants had closed for good in NYC. No telling what that number is now. They have also written several articles on chains that are pulling out since tourists keep them afloat. This includes chain retail stores as well. NY 1 says that permanent restaurant closures in all boroughs is over a few thousand.

CNN says 2/3 of Ny restaurants could permanently close by December and there could be an 80% US rate of permanent closures.