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Q&A
Economic impact of outdoor dining program rollout
0:40:36
·
3 min
Council Member Julie Menin inquires about the economic losses restaurants face due to the poor rollout of the outdoor dining program. Andrew Rigie and Rob Bookman from the New York City Hospitality Alliance provide insights on the financial impact, including:
- Individual restaurants facing thousands of dollars in losses
- Potential loss of thousands of jobs created during the emergency program
- Millions of dollars in lost tax revenue for the city
- Dramatic decrease in participation rates across boroughs compared to the COVID-era program
Julie Menin
0:40:36
Great.
0:40:36
Thank you very much.
0:40:37
I have a number of questions for this panel, and I know some of my colleagues do as well.
0:40:41
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge we've been joined by colleagues councilmember Ariola, councilmember Narcisse.
0:40:48
So I want to I guess a question first for the hospitality alliance.
0:40:52
Could you perhaps quantify what the economic losses I know I heard your testimony, which was very compelling, but could you sort of, writ large, quantify what is the economic loss for restaurants due to the poor rollout of this program?
0:41:07
How many restaurants are gonna go out of business?
0:41:09
How many are gonna have to downsize?
0:41:11
How many are gonna have to fire staff?
0:41:13
Could you try to give us a picture of that?
Andrew Rigie
0:41:15
So it's hard to give an overview just because the different sizes of the restaurants, but you can hear, like, from Megan, a small bar right there alone, she's spending 60 some odd thousand dollars over, you know, four years.
0:41:26
In a case of Robert where he's losing those seats, he's losing at least one server job there.
0:41:32
So there was some data, I unfortunately don't have it in front of me now, but from the controller's office, about the millions of dollars in lost tax revenue to the city.
0:41:43
And that was just actually based on, I believe, sales tax revenue.
0:41:47
There's obviously the additional jobs, the payroll taxes that those jobs create, and the additional just general economic activity.
0:41:57
So the loss in revenue to the city, you know, is is millions.
0:42:02
The report, I believe, showed that the loss of jobs is in the thousands.
0:42:08
And for individual businesses, it's gonna depend on the size, but you could certainly hear just the cost alone.
0:42:15
Many restaurateurs I know that have moved forward with the program are not even sure if they're going to make money.
0:42:22
They'll be happy if they're able to break even at this point, but could potentially lose thousands of dollars a year.
Rob Bookman
0:42:27
So let's not and to answer your question also, let's not forget that during the emergency program, it was well documented that 10,000 jobs were created or saved as a result of this vibrant outdoor dining program.
0:42:39
If that becomes 20% of what it was, which is about where we're at now, that's 80%, you know, you know, of these additional jobs will be gone.
0:42:50
Tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues, you know, were secured, you know, for the city because of this vibrant outdoor dining.
0:42:58
As well as public survey after public survey, especially in the boroughs, said this is great.
0:43:03
We never had this before.
0:43:04
We love it.
0:43:05
It's added to our neighborhood.
0:43:07
But numbers we're seeing, you know, are are dramatic and concerning.
0:43:11
So it's when you in Bronx, for example, as as he said, there are 78 applications or or places approved.
0:43:20
700 in The Bronx during during COVID.
0:43:23
Brooklyn, there's 600 places now.
0:43:27
There was 3,200 during COVID.
0:43:30
In in Queens, there was 2,500 establishments during COVID, only 250 now.
0:43:37
Even Staten Island had a 86 during COVID, three now.
0:43:42
During when we when you were a commissioner of consumer affairs and there were only 1,200 or so sidewalk cafes, an NYU study that came out during during COVID to show how wonderful the study, you know, you know, this is added to to the city both economically and socially, pointed out that there were 17 community boards that had no outdoor dining at all under the old law.
0:44:05
That neighborhoods that low income neighborhoods doubled the number of cafes that they had under the emergency program compared to the old law.
0:44:15
Neighborhoods where a majority or minority restaurants also doubled the number of cafes that they had, in the emergency compared to pre COVID.
0:44:24
So we'll lose if we lose those applications, it's millions of dollars that the restaurants are using, losing, and the city is losing.
Julie Menin
0:44:31
Okay.