Gov. Cuomo allows indoor dining at NYC restaurants to resume at 25{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} capacity Sept. 30

New York City restaurants will be allowed to reopen their indoor dining areas at 25{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} capacity beginning Sept. 30, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday. 

Restaurants, which have been staying afloat over the summer through takeout and outdoor dining services, will be required to take customers’ temperatures at the door, enforce mask wearing and social distancing.

“We have seen clusters outbreak from restaurants, so that was the reason for caution,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany. “We’ve been working on this issue everyday and we’re now announcing today that we can go to 25{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} of indoor dining with certain restrictions that will be enacted on September 30.”

Cuomo has previously held back on reopening the city’s restaurants for indoor dining services while other parts of the state were allowed to serve customers inside, criticizing city officials for not enforcing social distancing rules for outdoor dining services. 

Last week, he called on the New York Police Department and the New York State Restaurant Association, which has called for indoor dining in the city, to create a plan or a “task force” that would effectively allow restaurants to reopen while enforcing the governor’s rules. 

On Wednesday, Cuomo estimated that 10,000 establishments will need to be inspected to ensure they’re following the state’s Covid-19 health precautions. The state plans to expand its current “task force,” which includes the State Liquor Authority. New York City will also provide an additional 400 inspectors to work alongside the task force, he said. 

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