Senator Chuck Schumer has developed a bipartisan recipe for restaurant relief in order to bring nourishment and life back into New York City’s food industry.
As restaurants begin to expand with greater indoor dining capacity, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans on Feb. 21st to aid independent eateries struggling to survive.
Although indoor dining is now easing regulations and allowing more individuals to eat inside at one time, it is not expected to be enough to keep many establishments in business. At merely 35% indoor capacity (starting on Feb. 26), especially after months of closures and scrambling to build outdoor dining areas with heat, there still is not enough finances for restaurant owners to cover expenses, let alone pay rent.
According to the New York City hospitality Alliance, of 400 restaurants surveyed, about 92% of the owners said they could not afford their December rent. New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) shared that thousands of restaurants have closed due to the pandemic.
