TOPLINE
Restaurants in New York City filed a $2 billion class-action lawsuit against city and state officials on Thursday, alleging the indoor dining ban caused “irreparable harm” to the city’s food and beverage industry and pushing for the return to indoor dining — the lawsuit marks the latest attempt to normalize the city through legal action.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily media briefing at the Office of the Governor of ... [+]
KEY FACTS
Il Bacco, an Italian restaurant in Queens, is spearheading a class-action lawsuit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and New York Attorneys General to force the state to allow indoor dining and for damages lost during Covid-19 guidelines.
Over 350 restaurants have signed on to the $2 billion lawsuit.
Il Bacco is only 500 feet from the Nassau County border, where restaurants have been able to serve indoors at 50% capacity since June 24.
New York City is the only city in the state where some form of indoor dining is still not allowed, despite a weeks-long statewide case positive rate below 1%.
In mid-August, 1,500 gym owners across New York filed a class-action lawsuit against the state which led to gyms, fitness centers, and yoga studios opening their doors at 33% capacity just a few weeks later.
In May, a Brooklyn nursing student who had been arrested twice for violating the state’s ban on nonessential gatherings while protesting outside City Hall in New York City, filed a federal lawsuit against Cuomo alleging the ban violated her First Amendment rights, which lead to the governor lifting the ban on protests and easing the guidelines on nonessential gatherings, just in time for Memorial Day.
Key Background
On Monday both Cuomo and de Blasio acknowledged the pressure that New York City restaurants are facing, but neither have said when, or under what circumstances, indoor dining in the city could resume. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that restaurants in the state could open at 25% capacity, exacerbating the situation, with Cuomo admitting that New York City restaurants were now at a “competitive disadvantage” since diners could cross a bridge or tunnel and eat in New Jersey. "I want as much economic activity as quickly as possible, we also want to make sure transmission rate stays under control. That is the tension," Cuomo said at a press conference. De Blasio said Monday that restaurants in the city deserve a timeline at the very least, and hopes a plan will be set in September, but admitted that the decision wasn’t in his hands, but in Cuomo’s.
Further Reading
NYC restaurant owners file $2 billion lawsuit as pressure mounts over indoor dining (ABC7NY)
Queens Restaurant Leads $2 Billion Indoor Dining Lawsuit Against NY (Gothamist)
N.Y. Gyms and Fitness Studios Can Reopen as Soon as Aug. 24, Cuomo Says (New York Times)
