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Comment by quxpar | Hacker News Reader

It's impossible to make rent in the city while at 50 percent capacity. The reckless and inconsiderate patrons are back already, the rest will not be going back to bars and restaurants any time soon, meaning probably two years. How many of these businesses would make it two years under normal conditions? 80% of nyc restaurants fail within 5 years. [1]

Nonetheless, I have seen two new restaurants open up in my area - both focusing on take-away with some outdoor seating. When businesses are being forced to adapt to a public health risk, I consider that a positive.

However I 100% agree with the need for better use of public outdoor space, the crippling of open/summer streets programs makes no sense.

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-restaurants-fail-ra...

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I don't think it's "reckless and inconsiderate" for people to frequent outdoor restaurants/bars now. NYC has had outdoor dining open for 6 weeks, with low and stable COVID infection rates throughout. A scientific consensus that COVID spreads the most indoors is emerging. Aside from allowing people to enjoy their leisure (with social and mental benefits), we support local businesses and their workers. Is it great that people are even working with the virus around? No, of course not. But with government aid not coming at all, the next best thing to do is to make sure the restaurants have enough money to pay staff and other expenses.

The real "reckless and inconsiderate" people are the politicians who are trying to impose austerity, cut benefit checks, and let businesses fail without a care. The elites are presiding over a 30% annualized decline in GDP without a care - mindboggling.

> The elites are presiding over a 30% annualized decline in GDP without a care - mindboggling.

It's only mindboggling if you expect them to care about the entire GDP and not just their personal slices of the pie.

The workers still have to be indoors. Do you not care about their well being? How many bar and restaurant workers get health insurance from their employer?

I care very much about their wellbeing, which is why it’s so important they are able to go back to work.

NY is a Medicaid Expansion state. The bar and restaurant workers likely qualify for free (under 133% FPL) or substantially subsidized ACA plans.

Right now, the mask-wearing hand-washing under 40-year-old restaurant worker in NYC, with a positivity rating of 1% (the noise floor) are probably more at risk from dying due to lightening strike in their lifetime (1 in 180k) than of COVID.

I absolutely do. I try to wear a mask as much as possible, though it can't be 100% when dining. Some 30% of NYC renters haven't paid rent since March and may face eviction. If I can help restaurant staff do that, that's a help. And plus, infection rates are low and stable in NY.

In an ideal world, we all go to sleep until a vaccine arrives, but we live in a world far from ideal.

Perhaps the government should broker some temporary rent-per-customer or rent-per-$ sales as a way to help both landlords and small businesses.

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