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Aug. 3, 2020 By Christian Murray
Four in five bars and restaurants in New York City were unable to pay their full rent in July, according to a new study.
The NYC Hospitality Alliance released results from a survey today that found that only 17 percent of establishments were able to pay their full rent for July. The survey was based on the responses from 471 NYC restaurants, bars, nightclubs and event venues between July 15 and 28.
The survey revealed that 37.4 percent didn’t pay any rent in July. Meanwhile, 36.6 percent said they paid some, with the remainder uncertain whether they would be able to pay.
The results are not pretty, restaurant advocates say, and come despite the mayor’s attempts to help businesses survive–given the ban on indoor dining and various social distancing restrictions that are in place.
The mayor has expanded outdoor dining and provided businesses with the ability to sell to-go drinks.
De Blasio praised his outdoor dining program on Monday and said it has helped keep many businesses afloat, bringing nearly 80,000 workers back to their jobs.
But the NYC Hospitality Alliance said that the mayor’s programs were not enough to offset the revenue lost by the restriction on indoor dining and various other requirements.
Furthermore, federal programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program may have helped many businesses but much of that money has now been spent.
“Restaurants and nightlife venues are essential to the economic and social fabric of our city, but they are struggling to survive,” said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance.
The survey revealed that about 10 percent were able to negotiate their lease, while about 28 percent were in “good faith negotiations.” Approximately 62 percent of respondents said they had not renegotiated it.
There are signs that some landlords are working with some businesses.
The survey found that nearly 30 percent of landlords had waived some rent due to the pandemic. Of those landlords, 74 percent had waived half the rent or more.
The rent has forced many businesses to close—unable to keep up with high fixed costs. Currently there is a moratorium on evictions for commercial tenants, which is set to expire Aug. 5.
For a copy of the survey, click here.
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3 Comments
DiBlasio and Cuomo will destroy the restaurant industry, and all for lockdowns which are proven to have no effect at all. These people are criminals.
Democrats are destroying the country.
Landlords are not evil, they can’t get any discount from the banks, so why should they give discounts? If a business can’t survive, it can close and a business that can survive can open. From what it looks like most restaurants and bars are pretty full.
If government doesn’t care about helping the small business, if the republican federal government turns its back on Democrat (or potentially socialist or liberal or whatever New Yorkers identify themselves as these days) states, then States need to find a way to sustain themselves without having to beg federal government for handouts. This show you how much power local politicians have, the AOCs and what not can scream all day, but in the end, if Republican federal government thinks you betrayed them by not voting for them, using the federal help packages to spread it to illegal immigrants because they work for cheap, or building homeless shelters or convict homes instead of requesting that they work or create jobs, this is what you get. Landlord = Evil, not really.