Restaurants, officials urge New York to make alcohol on a regular basis in the future state budget

NEW YORK (WABC) – As New York State officials and the Restaurant Association mark two years of hardship with the COVID-19 pandemic, they are stepping up their calls for alcohol sales to become permanent.

State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assembly members Neely Rozik, Catalina Cruz and Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas have joined the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) and local restaurant owners.

They want the final budget for fiscal 2022-2023 to allow the state legislature to make alcohol on a permanent basis.

The event also marked the two-year anniversary of New York State on PAUSE, emergency orders that closed all restaurants at the start of the pandemic.

Under the New York State of Emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants and bars were allowed to sell alcoholic beverages on the road.

A poll conducted by the State Association in May 2021 found that more than 78% of New Yorkers are in favor of making alcohol permanent.

However, after the emergency order expired, the policy of allowing restaurants and bars to continue what the association called a “necessary and reliable revenue stream” also diminished.

Before the pandemic, New York’s thriving restaurant industry boosted $ 4 billion in tax revenue for the state, and alcohol on the go will play a key role in revenue returns.

The final state budget must be approved by March 31, 2022.

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