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Indoor dining capacity increases in New York City

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Updated  March 19, 2021 11:04pm EDT
New York City
FOX 5 NY

Easing indoor dining restrictions a giant leap towards normalcy

Restaurants in New York, including in New York City and New Jersey are allowing more diners to eat inside, but with coronavirus restrictions still in place, they're not packing them in just yet.

NEW YORK - Add some sizzle to the menu at New York City restaurants! Today, allowable indoor capacity at city establishments jumped to 50 percent from 35 percent. The same is true in New Jersey. Elsewhere in New York State — outside of the city — indoor capacity increases to 75 percent.

In New Jersey, indoor capacity for hair salons, personal care services, casinos, gyms, and amusement parks also increased to 50 percent.

"Our entire industry just took a big hit, you know?" said Manny Padron, owner of Substance Salon and BarberSpa. "The self-care and bauty industry wasn't able to do what they love to do so we're very fortunate to be back and every day I'm thankful."

NYC & NJ indoor dining capacity at 50 percent

Governors Andrew Cuomo and Phil Murphy made the announcement two weeks ago saying that COVID data for both states was trending in a direction that made it safe to raise the capacity limits.

Signs of a return to normalcy don’t end there. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that beginning April 1, the Yankees and Mets can fill the stands to 20 percent capacity. That means both teams can have fans for their home openers. Fans must present proof of a negative test or a completed vaccine series.

On Monday, group fitness classes can resume in New York City, the state said. Mayor Bill de Blasio opposed that decision. He suggested Cuomo made the move out of political expediency, not based on science.

Restaurants scramble to hire more employees

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CT eases COVID restrictions

The State of Connecticut now allows for full capacity indoor dining and the expansion of capacity limits at other venues.