Though other indoor spaces like museums and bowling alleys are opening this month, it looks like we may be waiting another four months (or longer) for indoor dining.
In a press conference earlier this week, Mayor de Blasio hinted that indoor dining wouldn’t return until 2021. Though not a formal announcement, in answering a reporter’s question he said: “If folks miss the theater, if they miss, you know, the indoor dining, those things will be back, they’ll be back next year at some point, I think that is overwhelmingly the case.”
Questions about a timeline for indoor dining in NYC have been asked almost every day, as colder months are on their way and business owners are still hurting. Indoor dining reopened in phase 3 for every other region in New York State, but was cut from NYC’s reopening plan days prior by Governor Cuomo due to safety concerns.
Even earlier in the same press conference, the Mayor said they “don’t have a specific timeline because there’s such sensitivity around that sector.” He cited issues in other cities with indoor activities, saying, “Dr. Chokshi, Dr. Varma are both here, they will tell you that unfortunately, indoor dining, bars, restaurants, nightclubs have been the nexus for so many of the problems around the world, including some of the resurgence that you’re seeing in Europe and in Hong Kong right now.”
As one way to combat this, Mayor de Blasio said earlier this month that the city was looking into ways to extend outdoor dining through the winter months.
Still, there is no news on what that would look like (though we expect heat lamps, blankets and hot drinks would be in the cards).
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