East End restaurants will be able to reopen for outdoor dining by next week according to new guidelines announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday.
That decision will likely come as welcome news to Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who said on Tuesday that he has been lobbying the governor on behalf of local officials to accelerate the reopening process to prevent the economic shutdown from further dampening the most lucrative season for East End businesses.
"We'd like to get businesses open in the next couple of weeks and we'd like more flexibility than we've had," said Mr. Thiele. He and local officials have discussed using three metrics to assess whether a business can safely open: Can it accommodate social distancing, does it align with the mandate for people to wear masks, and does it have an appropriate sanitation plan in place?
For restaurants, municipalities are considering allowing more outdoor dining as a way to meet the first two metrics, he said. In a briefing last week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said the Department of Health Services, which enforces the sanitary code, would give automatic approval to restaurants that have been granted permission to expand outdoor dining. He reiterated that commitment yesterday afternoon. "Whether expanding into the sidewalk or into back spaces in a back lot that are approved at the local level, we will provide automatic approval . . . to facilitate expansion of dining opportunities for restaurants and for this really important part of our economy here," Mr. Bellone said. The county executive pledged to "convene all of the local stakeholders to address any street closure that will help facilitate outdoor dining."
According to the new guidelines, a restaurant's outdoor tables must be spaced six feet apart, staff must wear face coverings, and customers must wear them when not seated.
Barbara Borsack, the East Hampton Village deputy mayor and candidate for mayor in the upcoming election, said in an email to supporters on Monday that the village "will be relaxing some of our local codes in order to allow [businesses] temporary signage, outdoor display, and outside seating for this season, to help them get back on their feet during this unusual and unprecedented period."
The Town of East Hampton on Monday advised business owners intending to reopen that they must make arrangements for safe operating procedures, and file a health and safety protocol affirmation with the state.
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said on Thursday that the town would help restaurants use road shoulders, outdoor spaces, and parking where feasible to give them as much added space as possible. "We want the restaurants to survive and will bend over backwards to support them," he said during a town board work session. Restaurants will work with the town's fire marshall's office and even restaurants that have no existing outdoor dining space can apply for emergency relief and the town will help them try to create space. Restaurants be will need to apply using a town form designed to provide this temporary emergency relief.
State guidelines should not be "one size fits all" and some of the lockdown rules had been unfair, said Mr. Thiele, citing as examples the fact that construction sites were shut down while landscapers were allowed to work, and that small retail stores were forced to close while big box stores that carry food, such as Walmart, remained open. "We want all of our businesses treated fairly," he said.
Last week, the State Legislature passed several bills aimed at helping business owners and others who have been financially impacted by the shutdown, Mr. Thiele announced in a series of press releases. One measure would authorize industrial development agencies -- nonprofits that promote economic development -- to create a loan program for small businesses and not-for-profits, and to provide grants to purchase personal protective equipment.
Another would provide subsidies to renters who are paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent, and have experienced loss of income due to the pandemic. The money would cover rent from April 1 to July 31.
For homeowners, the Legislature passed a bill that would require banks to grant at least 180 days of mortgage forbearance on a primary residence to those who can demonstrate pandemic-related financial hardship, with an option for an additional 180 days. Another bill would authorize municipalities to place a moratorium for up to five years on home foreclosures because of nonpayment of property taxes. The bills still need to be signed into law by Governor Cuomo.
"All the things that we did last week are good, but it's a first and small step," said Mr. Thiele.
Since the shutdown began, the number of constituents who have requested Mr. Thiele's help in accessing unemployment benefits has skyrocketed. "We've been helping shepherd hundreds of claims," he said. The county recently released an analysis of employment trends for April that showed the unemployment rate at 16.4 percent, up from 4.1 percent in March, and more than five times as high as the rate in April 2019.
The state's system for processing claims had initially been overwhelmed with requests. Mr. Thiele said the process has since improved, but it is still not as "rosy a picture as the governor has made it seem."
The economic shutdown has also had a severe impact on the state's finances. "Right now the state budget is in peril, there's a $13 billion budget gap," said Mr. Thiele. "We're all looking to Washington, we need more federal assistance."
(The county is reporting a budget hole over the next two and a half years that could reach $1.5 billion, according to Mr. Bellone.)
Congressional negotiations for another federal relief bill will take place this month. If the federal government doesn't provide assistance, Mr. Thiele said, it would force the state to cut subsidies to municipalities and school districts. That, he said, would be counterproductive to boosting the economy.