ALBANY – Governor Cuomo on Friday announced that starting on Sunday, February 14, bars and restaurants in New York will be allowed to stay open for an additional hour, until 11 p.m.
In November, citing rising COVID rates, Cuomo ordered that bars and restaurants with liquor licenses stop serving alcohol at 10 pm. Restaurants were allowed to continue serving curbside food for pickup after 10 p.m. but were not allowed to serve alcohol.
“Our decisions are based on science and data and we adjust as the virus adjusts. The infection rate and hospitalizations have continued to significantly decline,” Cuomo said. “Accordingly, we have adjusted with arena and catering hall openings with rigorous testing and limited capacity indoor dining openings in New York City. We will also move the restaurant and bar closing hour from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. statewide on Sunday.”
Michael Hinspeter, owner of Hoagie Barmichael’s pub in New Windsor, applauded the announcement. “It’s a welcome adjustment. We have suffered tremendously but we can now look forward to an extra seven hours of food and liquor sales per week. It’s a start.”
Mike Reed, Proprieter of Noah’s Ark in Poughkeepsie was not as enthusiastic about the extension. “My business in a week is not as good as it was in a weekend before all of this started,” said the longtime bar owner. He also questioned whether the extra hour will generate enough business to cover the cost of staying open for that longer period.
Cuomo left the door open to change the hours again. “We will continue to follow the science and react accordingly. If we keep the infections down and vaccinations up, we will continue to stay ahead in the footrace against this invisible enemy.”
