Struggling Long Island restaurants eager to reopen for outdoor dining
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - After dozens of restaurants in the Village of Farmingdale moved their tables and chairs outside for dining on Friday night, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran chalked it up to a misunderstanding.
"People are ready to get back back to some kind of normal and maybe some jumped the gun a little," Curran said.
The tables and chairs had to belong to the Village and not the individual restaurants.
The difference - a big one according to the county executive because outdoor dining is still considered nonessential and falls under phase three of the state's reopening plan.
"The easiest fix is make outdoor dining phase two," said Farmingdale Village Mayor Ralph Ekstrand.
Ekstrand along with some local leaders and restaurant owners are calling on Albany to make the change.
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"The rules are structured to support the big stores and the small ones can't even have a trickle of business," said Eric Alexander, founder of Long Island Main Street Alliance.
Peter Mangouranes, the owner of The Good Life in Massapequa Park, said he lost 70% of his business.
"We need some type of certainty. Something to look forward to," he said.
The longer these establishments are closed, owners like John Coumatos with B.K. Sweeney's Parkside Tavern in Bethpage say the worse it gets.
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"It's 70 days behind us," he said. "It's like being in quicksand up to our necks."
If all goes according to schedule, Long Island is just over a week away from entering phase two.