Open theaters, indoor food services, Cosney Island amusement park up and running ... The days when New York, then the global epicenter of the pandemic, looked like a ghost town, seemed a long time ago.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the lifting of certain health restrictions as of May 19, allowing large venues to have a maximum capacity of 30%.
Proof of vaccination or a recent negative test will nevertheless be required upon entry.
To discover
United States: the Figaro travel guide
New York: the Figaro travel guide
This percentage rule has also been the benchmark during successive reopening periods. Since March 2021, cinemas have been open with a capacity of 25%. The rate is 35% for billiard rooms. As for the restaurants, they can accommodate their customers inside with a capacity of 50%. Wearing a mask, which has been required since the start of the pandemic, both in the street and in confined spaces, is no longer compulsory for those vaccinated. "
The New York community is quite pragmatic and follows the rules
," said Charles Lopez, a Frenchman living in the United States for 15 years and manager of the Wild Ink restaurant in the Hudson Yards district.
This is why New York has the possibility of reopening,
”he continues.
Read also: In New York, the awakening of French restaurateurs
Yurts on terraces
New Yorkers were thus able to discover the concept of terraces, so dear to European culture, when restaurants transferred their services outside.
Some brands have even installed teepees, yurts and other plastic bubbles in order to respect social distancing.
These are the new street scenes in Manhattan.
Strict measures have been put in place for both customers and staff, from temperature measurements to contact tracing forms.
“
These are data that must be kept for a period of 30 days.
So every 30 days, we empty our forms,
”explains Charles Lopez.
Andrew Cuomo told restaurateurs they could bring customers closer if they put up barriers between tables.
But federal guidelines still impose a minimum distance of two meters.
Reopening the establishments to 100% therefore seems complex, as Chris Nelson, manager of Peak, the restaurant located on the top floor of the 30 Hudson Yards tower, points out: “
If we bring the tables together, I think we will lose confidence. of our customers and our staff.
So we will wait until these restrictions go down to a distance of one meter or less before considering increasing our capacity.
"
SEE ALSO -
Americans vaccinated "happy" and "delighted" to say goodbye to the mask
A clientele of locals
At the end of April, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of the city, announced the “
complete reopening of New York
” from July 1. A statement synonymous with a lifeline for the tourism and hospitality sectors. The establishments accommodated caregivers at the height of the crisis, where others saw more and more locals spending their time in "
staycation
", that is to say vacations at home.
As customers are concerned about health measures, some hotels have adapted their registration system to limit interactions.
“
We have a mobile platform where a customer can download an app bypassing the front desk, get their key and wave it in front of the elevator.
The floor is automatically selected and the first doorknob you touch will be your room,
”explains Maggie Houston, manager of Arlo Nomad and Midtown hotels.
Read also: What the hotel industry has learned from the health crisis
Waiting for tourists
The gradual lifting of restrictions has sent a strong signal, but there may still be a long way to go back to normalcy. The tourist office expects 36.4 million visitors in 2021, where New York had only received 22.3 million in 2020. But international travel to the city has not all resumed. Many companies have said they will not recall their employees until early fall. As for the theatrical performances on Broadway, they will not resume until September.
Now is the time for optimism, a quality unique to New Yorkers, as Chris Nelson proves: “
There are thousands of workers and thousands of restaurants in New York but I think we are all in the process. to encourage each other in order to be successful and get back on track.
"