As the days grow longer, so happily do restaurant hours in the Big Apple. Beginning Apr. 19, restaurants and bars throughout New York state will be allowed to remain open to the witching hour, according to a tweet by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
#BREAKING: Effective Monday, April 19, the curfew currently in place for bars & restaurants will be moving from 11pm to midnight.
The curfew for catered events will move from midnight to 1am.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 14, 2021
In addition, the curfew on catered events will be extended to 1 a.m.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, calls the new later hours a step in the right direction but argues that the lifting of other regulations is also needed. “The extra hour is good news for restaurants, bars and customers,” Rigie is quoted as telling Eater New York, “but we need to also lift the rule that prohibits customers from being seated to eat at a bar in NYC, and revisit removing the requirement that a ‘food item’ be served with a drink”
There is still no word on when restaurants will be allowed to return to full capacity. For now, the upward limit for diners is 50% of capacity, as instituted on March 15.
