If tourists are still waiting, the lifting of health restrictions is a source of optimism for the catering, hotel and tourism sectors of the Big Apple, until now forced to restrict their reception capacities.
Open theaters, indoor food services, Cosney Island amusement park up and running … It seems a long time ago when New York, then the global epicenter of the pandemic, looked like a ghost town. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the lifting of certain health restrictions as of May 19, allowing large venues to have a maximum capacity of 30%. Proof of vaccination or a recent negative test will nevertheless be required upon entry.
This percentage rule has also been the benchmark during successive reopening periods. Since March 2021, cinemas have been open with a capacity of 25%. The rate is 35% for billiard rooms. As for the restaurants, they can accommodate their customers inside with a capacity of 50%. Wearing a mask, which has been required since the start of the pandemic, both in the street and in confined spaces, is no longer compulsory for those vaccinated. “The New York community is quite pragmatic and follows the rules, estimates Charles Lopez, a Frenchman living in the United States for 15 years and manager of the restaurant Wild Ink, in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. This is why New York has the possibility to reopenHe continues.
Read also :In New York, the awakening of French restaurateurs
Yurts on terraces
New Yorkers were thus able to discover the concept of terraces, so dear to European culture, when restaurants transferred their services outside. Some brands have even installed teepees, yurts and other plastic bubbles in order to respect social distancing. These are the new street scenes in Manhattan. Strict measures have been put in place for both customers and staff, from temperature measurements to contact tracing forms. “This is data that must be kept for a period of 30 days. So every 30 days, we empty our forms»Explains Charles Lopez.
Andrew Cuomo told restaurateurs they could bring customers closer if they put up barriers between tables. But federal guidelines still impose a minimum distance of two meters. Reopening the establishments to 100% therefore seems complex, as indicated by Chris Nelson, the manager of the Peak, the restaurant located on the top floor of the tower 30 Hudson Yards : «If we bring the tables closer, I think we will lose the trust of our customers and our staff. So we will wait until these restrictions go down to a distance of one meter or less before considering increasing our capacity.«
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A clientele of locals
At the end of April, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of the city, announced the “full reopening of New York»From July 1st. A statement synonymous with a lifeline for the tourism and hospitality sectors. The establishments accommodated caregivers at the height of the crisis, where others saw more and more locals spending their time in “staycation», Or a vacation at home.
As customers are concerned about health measures, some hotels have adapted their registration system to limit interactions. “We have a mobile platform where a customer can download an app bypassing the front desk, get their key and wave it in front of the elevator. The floor is automatically selected and the first door handle you touch will be the one in your room»Explains Maggie Houston, hotel manager Arlo Nomad et Midtown.
Read also :What the hotel industry has learned from the health crisis
Waiting for tourists
The gradual lifting of restrictions has sent a strong signal, but there may still be a long way to go back to normalcy. The tourism office foresee 36.4 million visitors in 2021, where New York had only welcomed 22.3 million in 2020. But international travel to the city has not all resumed. Many companies have said they will not recall their employees until early fall. As for the theatrical performances on Broadway, they will not resume until September.
Now is the time for optimism, a quality unique to New Yorkers, as Chris Nelson proves: “There are thousands of workers and thousands of restaurants in New York City, but I think we’re all encouraging each other to be successful and get back on track.»
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