NYC restaurant owner: Restaurants will not ‘survive the year' with de Blasio dismissing indoor dining
'It will devastate us,' restaurateur Massimo Felici said
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted Friday that he has no plan to reopen indoor dining any time soon, so restaurant owners like Massimo Felici are banding together to consider filing a class-action lawsuit against the mayor.
Felici, owner of Staten Island’s Vinum Restaurant and Wine Bar, told "Fox & Friends Weekend" anchor Jedediah Bila that de Blasio’s lack of planning will “devastate” the industry, especially with the looming threat of being completely shut down once reopened in the fall.
“It will devastate us,” he said. “We're not going to survive the year, for sure. If that happens, very few of us will be able to survive that. We barely survived March, April and May, and now we're surviving because of the outdoor [dining].”
STRUGGLING RESTAURANT OWNERS HOSED AFTER NYC CRIPPLES OUTDOOR DINING
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio arrives to New Bridges Elementary School to observe pandemic-related safety procedures, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
More than 100 restaurants are now involved in fighting against de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s orders with potential legal action which may be the only option left to keep businesses alive, according to Felici.
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De Blasio also mentioned holding the reopening of indoor dining until a coronavirus vaccine hits the market which Felici said is “scary” for business owners to hear.
“That is probably the worst thing a mayor can say,” he said.
Felici told Bila that he feels fortunate to be a Staten Island restaurant owner since there’s more space for outdoor dining and said his restaurants are doing 60 to 70% of business at best.
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