Governor Cuomo Announces New York City Indoor Dining Can Reopen Early on February 12th

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York City indoor dining can reopen at 25 percent capacity on February 12, Lunar New Year Day. The reopening was previously scheduled for Valentine’s Day, but restaurants requested an earlier reopening date to allow staff to prepare and the request has been granted. The reopening is subject to strict state guidance.

“We’re in a footrace with COVID, and the footrace is clear–it’s rate of vaccination versus rate of infection and we’re continuing to make progress on both fronts,” Governor Cuomo said. “Not only have we administered more than two million doses of the vaccine, but the infection rate continues to decrease and New Yorkers should feel good about that. After all, this was possible because of their actions, their discipline and their sacrifice. As we move forward, we’re continuing to respond to the facts and data every day, and when the enemy changes tactics, we change with the enemy. We were planning to open the restaurants in New York City to indoor dining on Valentine’s Day, but they’ve made the point that they’d like to open a couple of days earlier so they can prepare for Valentine’s Day. That’s a reasonable request, so we’ll start indoor dining on Friday at 25 percent so the restaurants can get ready.”