Malliotakis: New York City Restaurants Need, Want & Deserve Parity

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today released the following statement after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York City restaurants can resume indoor dining up to 25% capacity on February 14, 2021:

"I'm happy to see that Governor Cuomo finally listened to our calls to resume indoor dining in New York City," said Congresswoman Malliotakis. "His arbitrary restrictions were based on political opinion rather than science, which devasted thousands of small businesses and put countless of New Yorkers out of work across our city. Although this is a step in the right direction, it is far from a viable solution to save these restaurants from permanent closure. Other regions across the state with higher seven-day averages have higher indoor dining capacities. There is absolutely no logical reason for New York City restaurants to be treated differently."

Congresswoman Malliotakis added: "Today I visited restaurants in my district that say leaving three-quarters of their seats empty during the frigid winter months is not enough for them to survive. By not expanding restaurant capacity, the Governor is hurting our already struggling small businesses and is incentivizing household gatherings where no social distancing, mask-wearing or sanitation guidelines are in place, and where his own contact tracers say 74% of the spread is occurring."

Congresswoman Malliotakis has been a vocal supporter of reopening indoor dining and the economy in New York City. She supports the Restaurants Act, federal legislation that would provide grants to local restaurants, and believes that a portion of any federal funding that New York City or State receives through a covid relief package should be set aside to help small businesses that were mandated to be closed by the City or State government.