NEW YORK — A group of New York City restaurants have filed a $2 billion lawsuit against the mayor, governor and attorney general claiming that coronavirus restrictions prohibiting indoor dining violate their rights and have put their livelihood at risk.
Il Bacco, a three-story Italian restaurant open since 1992 in Queens, is leading the effort, Newsday reported. More than 350 other New York City restaurants have also signed onto the lawsuit, Gothamist reported.
While there is a ban on indoor dining in New York City, a restaurant about 500 feet away from Il Bacco in Nassau County can serve customers indoors at 50% capacity. New York City is the only city in the state of New York that has not allowed some form of indoor dining.
“Every restaurant is packed and me, a block and a half away, I can’t open,” Joe Oppedisano, owner of Il Bacco, told Newsday. “I employ a lot of people. It’s a shame. Some of them have to collect unemployment now. It’s a mess.”
Attorney James Mermigis, who filed the lawsuit, said the restaurant is suffering irreparable harm and that the guidelines have been random, arbitrary and unfair, Gothamist reported. Mermigis also represented more than 1,500 gym owners from across the state in an August class-action lawsuit. The result led to gyms being able to reopen at reduced capacity. However, they still have not been allowed to reopen in New York City until they can be inspected.
“The NYC restaurants can no longer survive without indoor dining. We hope to get the same outcome as we did for the gyms,” Mermigis told Gothamist. “We want the State and the City to show us the science that indoor dining in NYC is more dangerous or problematic than indoor dining in Albany or Buffalo or Rochester. These restrictions are random and arbitrary and we intend to challenge them.”
Restaurants in neighboring New Jersey will open for indoor dining Friday at 25% capacity and with other social distance protocols in place, which could lead to greater strain on restaurant owners in New York City.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would work with officials to develop a plan to reopen safely and with enforcement measures in place, WABC reported.
“If New York City can say this many police can be put on a task force to monitor the compliance, that’s something we can discuss. I’m going to say to the restaurant association, tell me how we are going to enforce it and how we are going to monitor compliance because the facts on how we will monitor bars are damning,” Cuomo said. “You have heard me on the past month saying there is a lax compliance... All restaurants can open, but they have to have this, this, this. But the plan is only as good as your ability to enforce. Right now, we have no ability to enforce it.”
Mayor Bill De Blasio said a decision on opening indoor dining could be announced later this month, WABC reported.
“I think it’s our responsibility to give them as clear an answer in the month of September as possible, of where we are going,” De Blasio said. “If there can be a timeline, if there can be a set of standards for reopening, we need to decide that in the next few weeks and announce it, whether it is good news or bad news.”
Cox Media Group
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