• At the end of March, Nicholas Hall of Water Street Brewing Co. spearheaded a campaign to deliver food to hospital workers from a different Binghamton restaurant each day. Hall's GoFundMe page has raised more than $10,000 for the campaign and is still growing. To learn more about the initiative, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/qhjyk4-feeding-first-responders.

• Congress reached a $484 billion deal today that includes $380 billion for small businesses, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for disease testing. The US Senate passed the bill this evening and the House is expected to pass it later this week. 
• The NYS Restaurant Association, NYC Hospitality Alliance, Brooklyn Allied Bars and Restaurants, and Helbruan Levey participated in a call this afternoon with Senator Schumer’s staff to discuss needed changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and other federal relief options.

• Shifting from his recent emphasis on New York State as a single entity, Governor Cuomo today announced that officials will begin assessing the State region-by-region to reopen the economy as early as practicable. As part of this effort, the Governor named Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul as the point person on Western New York public health and reopening strategies, and he named former Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy as a volunteer special advisor to coordinate these strategies in the Finger Lakes region. At a press event yesterday, the Governor suggested the regions would likely mirror the State’s 10 economic development regions. The Governor insisted that any reopening decisions will be strictly data-driven, relying on factors including infection and hospitalization rates and regional hospital capacity. 
• NYSRA released our state specific data today from our recent survey with the National Restaurant Association. The press release was shared with the Governor’s office and Empire State Development. 

• While Mayor de Blasio shed doubt on the ability for the July 4th fireworks to proceed as planned, he also promised to hold a ticker tape parade to honor healthcare workers and first responders when the city is ready for large public events again. 

• Calls – NYSRA will be hosting the following Zoom calls this week. Here are the links to register:
• The Caterers Council - Wednesday, April 22 at 11 am https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEude2tpzwsGNEk9w2ClyNNsyZDvmBVuqY7
• Westchester Operators -Wednesday, April 22 at 2 pm: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrd--tpzgtH91iSb1ZXu-0dGS3jUTA92BL
• Capital Region Operators – Thursday, April 23 at 1 pm: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErceqtqTsqH9ITPTgRdChFrVmbciOAZ9tK
• NYC Operators, Friday, April 24 at 1 pm: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpduiorT0vEt0wgtds0y80LljjSKG2Pzev 
• If you would like to host a call for your region or specific industry segment, please contact Sarah Higgins, NYSRA Event Director at [email protected]. 
• Webinars
• The National Restaurant Association will be hosting the following webinars next week
• April 22, 2 p.m. EDT: Real time lessons restaurants learned from Coronavirus, Hepatitis A and Norovirus - Sponsored by Gojo, the makers of Purell.
• April 23, 2 p.m. EDT: Motivation for Nutrition & Physical Wellness for the Foodservice Community - Sponsored by Unilever.

• NYSRA released our state specific data today from our recent survey with the National Restaurant Association. Here is the press release and infographic.
• Melissa Fleischut was interviewed by Fox News today for a story that will air next week.