Update, 10:40 a.m.: During his press briefing, Mayor Bill de Blasio stated that he is working with the state so that New Yorkers would be allowed to once again use restaurant bathrooms.
According to new guidelines about outdoor dining released by the Counsel To The Mayor on Thursday evening, people participating in outdoor dining in New York City are no longer allowed to use restaurant's bathrooms or pick up food inside the establishment.
"The new guidance issued by NYS and shared by NYC on the indoor dining shutdown is another example of why restaurants and bars feel like government is purposely kicking them in the gut and then stopping on their hand when they’re already down," Andrew Rigie, head of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said. "This is absurd and must be fixed ASAP."
The COVID-19 Dining Update FAQ, which you can read here, states that "customers may not pick up food inside the establishment" and also "only verifiable employees" who are working are allowed inside establishments at any time. As a result, "customers may not enter the inside of the establishment for any reason" including using the bathroom.
The guidelines also offer some more clarity about how much of an outdoor structure must be open for it to qualify as outdoor, and not indoor, dining: "The structure must have at least two open sides for airflow...Sides are not considered “open” if covered in clear plastic or other material restricting air flow."
It also states that owners and employees are not allowed to drink inside restaurants, and also "no eating or drinking non-alcoholic beverages is permitted in any part of the establishment used by the public (e.g., dining room, bar, etc.)."
These guidelines draw from the State Liquor Authority guidelines on the indoor dining pause in the city, which was issued on Monday. As it stands, only takeout and outdoor dining are allowed in NYC, although indoor dining is still allowed in other parts of the state with reduced capacity.
The Mayor's Office FAQ quotes directly from the SLA guidelines, although the SLA guidelines do not specifically prohibit using bathrooms.
A source in the mayor's office suggested to Gothamist it was the SLA rules which caused the drastic change, and added, "the long and short of is that we don't want New York City businesses to be operating in the dark when policy changes come along that affect them. Of course we'll be talking to our partners in the state about sensible workarounds here."
Gothamist has reached out to the SLA for comment.
There has already been some pushback on Twitter from local officials about the new guidelines:
I doubt a restaurant was consulted in drafting these new and absurd guidelines. It can’t be. These confusing and ever-changing rules are pushing our restaurants to close. They need immediate economic relief! https://t.co/R6tVnqoaMI
— Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramos) December 18, 2020
On Friday morning, mayoral press secretary Bill Neidhardt further distanced City Hall from this guidance:
The new rules are set by the State, not the City.
We’ve asked them to change the rules around bathroom use to keep outdoor dining viable and help our restaurants survive. https://t.co/u69Kq7bp1U
— Bill Neidhardt (@BNeidhardt) December 18, 2020
Another member of the mayor's communications team later Tweeted, "After discussions with the State, they have agreed to change the rule around bathroom access," but there's no word on whether other parts will be changed as well.
Update 12:30 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo was asked about the bathroom brouhaha at a press conference mid-day on Friday and said it was a mistake: “There was never the intention of the state regulation to tell diners that they can’t use the bathroom.”
Aide Melissa De Rosa said that the State Liquor Authority has now issued a clarification to the rules online, and explained a little of what went wrong: "The SLA had previously done a FAQ when we instated the 10 p.m. curfew, so what happened was when they did the indoor dining restriction in New York City they used some of the same language from that, and in that language it said no one is allowed inside," she said. "We thought it was common sense that when you said no one is allowed inside, that's for dining purposes and not for purposes of the bathroom. The city issued what they issued yesterday without consulting us or asking for clarification."
State Liquor Authority chairman Vincent Bradley released this statement about it: “This is common sense: of course outdoor dining patrons can use a restaurant’s bathroom as long as they wear a face covering. That always has been and will continue to be allowed. Our goal here is simple — allowing restaurants and bars to continue operating in a safe manner that protects public health, and we will continue to support the industry through these trying times while keeping New Yorkers safe.”
And in the updated state guidelines, there is now a Q&A section stating "restrooms may of course be used" in restaurants as long as people wear face coverings; they also clarify that people wearing face coverings "may transit through the interior of the premises to access the licensed outdoor area."
However, there is no change to the rules banning people from picking up food inside restaurants and banning employees from eating or drinking inside "in any area of the establishment used by the public."
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December 18, 2020 at 08:22PM
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UPDATE: Cuomo Clarifies That "Of Course" Outdoor Diners Can Use Restaurant Bathrooms - Gothamist
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