Midnight restaurant curfew welcomed, but many want to abolish it altogether
While New York City residents are welcoming the state’s extension of its curfew for bars and restaurants by one hour to midnight, starting Monday, many people, especially representatives of the hospitality industry and political opponents of the city’s and state’s Democratic administrations, are saying the curfew should be abolished altogether.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, representing the city’s bars and restaurants, said, “The extra hour is good news for restaurants, bars and customers, but we still need a roadmap for when the curfew will be lifted like it has for other industries.
“The state also needs to lift the rule that prohibits customers from being seated to eat at a bar in New York City, and revisit removing the requirement that a “food item” be served with drinks,” he said.
New York Eater quoted a “South Brooklyn bar owner” who said, anonymously, “It’s great news. No curfew would obviously be better, but we do have to watch out for ‘Cinderella Covid’ which only comes out at midnight.”