New York COVID rule requiring food purchase with alcohol to be suspended

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

COVID rule requiring food purchase with alcohol to be suspended

The New York Senate majority leader said it's time to start removing restrictions that are no longer necessary.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The New York State Senate plans to suspend Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order that requires the sale of food with alcoholic beverages at bars and restaurants.

The Senate Democratic Majority will move to suspend that and several other executive orders put in place during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is time to begin removing certain restrictions and regulations that are no longer necessary, so we can safely reopen and rebuild our state's economy," Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said.

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The other two executive orders that will be acted on include:

-Individuals who volunteer to take on significant pandemic-related government work will be treated as public officials, opening them to disclosure and transparency rules.

-The legislature will also repeal "outdated" compliance rules for vaccine suppliers.

The New York Assembly is expected to take the same steps.

A spokesman for Cuomo said the changes will be in the state's next executive order on Thursday.

New York Republican leader Rob Ortt released the following statement on the "nonsensical" food and alcohol requirements:

"More than a year after the Governor was first granted emergency powers, our colleagues across the aisle have finally decided to repeal a few of these directives. For weeks, the Majority has ignored Senate Republican resolutions repealing onerous mandates on our restaurants who have suffered greatly under the Governor's arbitrary rules. While we welcome an end to the nonsensical food with alcohol requirements, many restaurants are still struggling due to arbitrary curfew orders. Hopefully the Majority will step up and repeal this order as well, and join us in finally putting an end to One-Man Rule in this state by fully repealing the Governor's emergency powers."

Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, responded to the Senate's move to limit the restrictions:

"We applaud the New York State Senate for its move to repeal executive orders requiring food sales with alcoholic beverage purchases in bars and restaurants. This adjustment is common sense, and is a step in the right direction for supporting an industry that was financially devastated by the pandemic. We're encouraged by the Senate's appetite for responsibly loosening business restrictions, and urge its next actions to modify the midnight curfew and ban on barstools that unfairly discriminate against restaurants and bars."

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