More Cops To Monitor Restaurants In 'Bar-Heavy' Hell's Kitchen
HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The city will deploy more cops to Hell's Kitchen to ensure neighborhood restaurants and bars follow social distancing rules, the mayor said Wednesday.
Hell's Kitchen is one of nine "bar-heavy" neighborhoods that Mayor Bill de Blasio said will get increased enforcement from the NYPD and Office of the Sheriff to make sure restaurants are still only allowing takeout, not gatherings, during the coronavirus crisis.
The announcement comes a week after large crowds of people were spotted sipping to-go drinks to the sidewalks outside Upper East Side restaurants, prompting concerns about social distancing even as eateries remain closed to dining in.
"The message is as simple as it could be – take out, don't hang out," de Blasio said last week. "...We did not want to see people try and create de-facto outdoor seating or de facto parties. We'd love it, but we can't do it. It's not safe."
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The nine bar-heavy neighborhoods include the Upper East Side, East Village, West Village, Lower East Side, Hell's Kitchen, Williamsburg in Brooklyn, City Island in the Bronx and Long Island City, and Astoria in Queens.
New York City's Office of Nightlife put out updated guidelines over the weekend for how bars and restaurants need to comply with physical distancing rules.
Under the guidelines, restaurants and bars are not allowed to put tables or chairs outside their restaurant unless it is to be used by someone with a disability waiting in line. They also must make sure all to-go food and drinks are carried away from the restaurant and groups gathering inside or outside the restaurant as they wait for takeout are kept six feet apart from one another.
De Blasio said Wednesday that the city is still working on a plan for when restaurants are allowed to reopen to in-person dining.
Calls for restaurants to be allowed to set up tables on the sidewalks and streets to help with social distancing have been mounting from elected officials and advocates.
"I think it is a very encouraging possibility to lean to the outdoors but we have a lot to figure out with social distancing, face coverings protocols and what amount of capacity you can make that would make it worthwhile," de Blasio said Wednesday.
Patch editor Anna Quinn contributed reporting.
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This article originally appeared on the Midtown-Hell's Kitchen Patch
