Long Island tries to steal restaurant business from NYC
LONG ISLAND - Restaurants on Long Island are open for indoor dining and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran wants to make sure you know it. She started a campaign to draw in New York City residents, who are still only able to dine alfresco.
“Since dining began, we’ve seen hospitalization rates go down, infection rates go down, infection rate has been about 1% for many weeks now” said Curran.
NYC bar owner struggles to keep business open during pandemic
New York City’s bars have survived some of the city’s darkest hours, but the pandemic is squeezing many of the city’s long-standing Irish pubs to the point of extinction. FOX 5 NY’s Sharon Crowley spoke with one bar owner about how he’s trying to stick it out, with no indoor dining and no relief in sight.
Near the Cross Island Parkway on Jericho Turnpike, restaurants like The Halal Brothers on the north side of the street are considered to be in Queens, while restaurants like The Borderline on the south side of the street are considered to be on Long Island. Over on Northern Boulevard in Queens, Il Bacco restaurant can’t open for indoor dining, but its neighbors just down the road in Great Neck have been hosting patrons indoors for two months now.
At his daily briefing, Mayor Bill de Blasio made it clear that he believes it’s not a risk worth taking just yet.
“A number of states moved ahead with indoor dining and found that it contributed to their either ongoing problem or resurgence. So, unfortunately what we see around the country, what we see around the world is there's a direct connection,” said de Blasio.
The says sometime this month the city will have a clear answer about indoor dining, whether it be good news or bad news for the industry. He says the city and state are working together now to make that final decision.