BRING IT ON!
NEW YORKERS MORE THAN READY FOR PHASE 2 AS RESTAURANTS GEAR FOR SIDEWALK SERVICE AFTER MONTHS OF COVID CLOSURES
Barbers are dusting off their clippers, retailers are stocking their selves and restaurants are getting ready for the start of outdoor dining — at least, the officially sanctioned start — as Phase 2 of the city’s reopening from the coronavirus shutdown gets underway.
That means eateries will be able to serve customers on sidewalks, in parking spaces and in backyards and patios.
Under state-mandated guidelines, a range of other businesses will be allowed to welcome customers, too. Anywhere from 150,000 to 300,000 New Yorkers will return to work as the city permits offices, some in-store retail, barbershops and hair salons, vehicle sales and rentals, real estate firms, commercial building management and other kinds of rental, repair and cleaning shops to operate.
Along with many businesses, playgrounds are reopening and houses of worship can hold indoor services at 25% capacity.
But maybe more than anything else, people emerging from more than three months of lockdown orders are hungry to eat at the pizza joints, falafel shops, fine dining establishments and beloved neighborhood dives that make New York, New York.
“We can do it — it’s New York,” said Jumaane Noel, whose family just opened Zed Eats and Drinks in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. “When it’s time to lock in, we lock in.”
Miles away, Christopher Miles was hoping to salvage the summer season at Batesy’s Barbecue on Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Queens. He had just opened the restaurant when COVID struck.
“We are very excited to be able to finally bring some food to people sitting at tables,” he said. “It’s not going to be what it would have been. But … we’ll take that in the meantime.”
Miles was planning to start serving customers at a few outdoor tables below the elevated A train, just two blocks from the beach.
In recent weeks, stir-crazy New Yorkers were seen crowding outside bars, and some eateries even began serving customers at outdoor tables before Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo officially sanctioned the move.
Under a state executive order, bars and restaurants have been forbidden from serving customers on premises since mid-March. Restaurant revenue plummeted nearly 90% during the first four months of the year, according to the mayor’s office, compared with the same time frame in 2019.
While reduced to filling carryout orders, Melissa Liebman said business hasn’t been too bad at Tosca Marquee in Throgs Neck in the Bronx, where she’s manager.
But there’s nothing like actually serving customers at a restaurant instead of sending out deliveries, she said.
“We’re getting calls all the time. People are excited to come eat outside,” said Liebman, adding that she’s planning to bring back some laidoff staff.
Even as the city looks forward to brushing off cabin fever, plenty of customers and merchants pleaded with their fellow New Yorkers to maintain the disciplined approach to the pandemic that has helped dramatically turn the tide of infection and death.
There were 209,313 confirmed COVID cases and 22,782 deaths as of Saturday, according to the city’s Health Department, though new cases
and fatalities have been steadily dropping since they reached a peak in mid-April.
Mike Adil, owner of Kimo’s Kitchen in Queens, called the relaxation of rules a “light at the end of the tunnel.” But he insisted his top priority for the foreseeable future would be the health of himself, his employees and his customers — not a big payday.
“I don’t want anyone to get sick from my restaurant,” said Adil. “If everyone does it smart, I am not concerned.”
At The Royale on Avenue C in the East Village, manager Josh Berman said he is not going to be shy about enforcing common-sense health rules. Authorities are still encouraging people to wear face masks and stay 6 feet away from one another.
“People just need to be conscious and respectful,” said Berman. “Socially distance, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, you know?”
Phase 2 won’t make as big a difference at Dun-Well Donuts in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, because it’s mostly a takeout spot. They already have spots 6 feet apart for customers lining up for java and crullers in the mornings.
Lexi Siratcusano, who works there, worries about New Yorkers dropping their guard as they hear about more and more businesses reopening.
“It’s already happening. I’ve been having to tell people a lot to wear masks,” said Siratcusano, who estimated about 10% of customers are refusing to wear masks. “A lot of people are getting aggressive.”
Noel said he believes New Yorkers will respect the rules because they’ve seen how effective the restrictions were in avoiding even more deaths and illnesses at the peak of the pandemic in the spring.
He’s planning to set up a few more tables in the back garden of the restaurant, but acknowledges it will still be a slog to get the business to where it should be.
“We still gotta be cautious,” he said. “[Gov.] Cuomo said we did a good job. We gotta keep it up. People are listening.”
A couple of blocks up Flatbush Ave., Gloria Laval laid out containers of sliced watermelon on the fruit stand that she’s operated in the neighborhood for five years now. Without coronavirus, Laval would’ve set up shop in her usual spot on the corner of Midwood St. once the weather turned warmer. But the pandemic forced her to wait till now.
Phase 2 doesn’t directly impact her business, but Laval says it’s a sign of how much New Yorkers have achieved so far — and how they will eventually beat the pandemic for good. “I’m still going, and I believe it will get better,” Laval said. “This is New York City. We always get through. We’re going to come out stronger.”