Schumer pushes $25B aid for eateries in COVID plan

Indoor dining is returning around the city, but struggling restaurants desperately need another stimulus bill to make it through the next stretch of the pandemic, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) said Sunday.

The Senate majority leader said he’s working to keep thousands of local restaurants afloat by pushing for a $25 billion relief fund baked into the proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package working its way through Congress. Struggling restaurateurs could apply for relief grants through the Small Business Administration.

Restaurant owners were able to apply for forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans through previous stimulus packages that Congress passed in March and December. But Schumer is aiming for a dedicated program exclusively for bars and eateries.

“Too many of the places we know and love could close without the help, leaving a giant hole in our local economy,” Schumer said at a news conference outside Dirty Candy, a vegetarian restaurant on the Lower East Side. “My dad was a small-business owner. He struggled ... he was an exterminator. I know how hard restaurants are hit.”

Under the proposal, restaurant groups would be eligible for $10 million grants; individual restaurants could apply for up to $5 million in relief.

The help can’t come soon enough for restaurant owners and workers, said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, which found in a survey last month of 400 restaurant owners around the city that 92% couldn’t pay their full December rent.

“The restaurant industry is vital to the economic foundation and social fabric of New York City, and it has been decimated by COVID-19,” said Rigie. “Our eating and drinking spots have shed over 140,000 jobs and many New Yorkers still working in the industry are underemployed.”

Another survey by the National Restaurant Association last month estimated one in six restaurants across the country have closed for good during the pandemic — including 4,500 in New York City.

Schumer said a dedicated relief fund is the best way to stop the bleeding.

“It’s very flexible, and very tailored to what the restaurants need,” said Schumer. “New York can’t live without its restaurants.”