NYSRA Update: COVID-19 Outbreak | April 29, 2020

Good News
  • As restaurants across New York were ordered to shut down in March, On The Line was born. On The Line is a coalition of chefs, restaurants, vendors, and volunteers distributing humanitarian meals in the hard-hit communities of Yonkers, New Rochelle, and broader Westchester County. This week the organization will be donating their 7,000th meal. Read More: https://www.on-the-line.org/​

Federal
  • Bar and Restaurants has compiled a list of the states that are planning to reopen restaurants and the guidelines for doing so. 

State
  • Governor Cuomo announced his Reopening Task Force. NYSRA has been in contact with Empire State Development and the Governor’s staff and shared the National Restaurant Association’s reopening guidelines with them. They have admitted it was an oversight to leave us (as well as the Empire State Tavern Assn) off the task force. We are scheduling a direct phone call with Steve Cohen, who the Governor appointed with Bill Mulrow to run the task force, and we will be participating in all of the regional discussions as well. We won’t stop fighting for the hospitality industry.  

NYC
  • Today, City Council held a hearing to provide oversight on the state of businesses during the Covid-19 crisis, as well as consider several new proposals. NYSRA testified in favor of measures to increase transparency on third party delivery platforms, as well as cap the fees charged by these platforms during the Covid-19 crisis. We also support a proposal to waive or refund sidewalk cafe fees for the year 2020, and limit personal liability in leases. 
  • Just tonight, City Council scheduled a hearing on new proposals that concern our industry, which will take place at 10am on May 5. Two are extremely worrying:
  • Requiring businesses to pay premium pay to hourly employees.
  • Banning any termination, including layoffs, not for documented "just cause."
NYSRA has already been working with a broad coalition of business industry allies to oppose these measures, and will be releasing an open letter to our City elected officials tomorrow. We want you to be aware of these proposals, think about how they would impact you, and sincerely consider sharing your story through testimony at the hearing next week. If you have questions about how to do so, or need guidance on this, please reach out to [email protected]. Of course, NYSRA will also be testifying on behalf of our membership.  

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