Category: Important Announcements

The Governors’ Office has announced that Effective Monday, April 19, the curfew for bars and restaurants will be changed from 11pm to midnight. The curfew for catered events will move from midnight to 1am. 

An EATER magazine article reports that “’The curfew extension is a step in the right direction,’ says Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, but there are still other regulations that restaurateurs and bar owners would like to see removed. ‘The extra hour is good news for restaurants, bars and customers, but we need to also lift the rule that prohibits customers from being seated to eat at a bar in NYC, and revisit removing the requirement that a ‘food item’ be served with a drink” 

Local Law 29 of 2021 extends the moratorium on the issuance of certain accessory sign violations, and the temporary assistance program for certain accessory signs to January 1, 2023.

Moratorium on Issuance of Certain Accessory Sign Violations

The NYC Department of Buildings will not issue accessory sign violations for business storefront signs that existed before February 9, 2019, and do not exceed 150 square feet in area or exceed 1,200 pounds in weight, unless the sign creates an imminent threat to public health or safety.

The enforcement moratorium is extended to January 1, 2023.

Temporary Assistance Program for Certain Accessory Signs

The Temporary Assistance Program waives all sign permit filing fees for respondents who received a Department sign violation until January 1, 2023 if:

 • the summons or violation was for a storefront sign

• The penalty imposed as a result of a hearing held at OATH’s Hearing Division (formerly known as ECB) was entered as a judgment in court NOTE: If the violation was entered as a judgment in court, a Court Docket Date will be listed on the OATH/ECB Violations Details page in the Buildings Information System (BIS).

• the judgment amount was paid between June 1, 2006 and January 1, 2021.

 If the summons/violation meets all of the listed criteria:

• submit a job filing and pay the fees in DOB NOW: Build NOTE: In most cases, the raising or lowering of any sign requires a Licensed Sign Hanger. See a list of Licensed Sign Hangers and get additional sign installation information from DOB’s website.

 • indicate that the filing addresses a summons/violation and provide the summons/violation number

• submit an RF1-Refund Request Application and select Overpayment (OP) in Section 3 (Reason for Refund Request). The Correct Fee in Section 4 (Payment Information) is 100% of the filing fee paid. Attach the following to the completed RF1 – Refund Request Application:

• a copy of the accessory sign summons/violation; and

• proof of payment for the entire judgment amount (i.e., a copy of the cancelled check or a credit card statement); the proof of payment must include the date the payment was made – please attach a copy of the court judgment if you have it, although the judgment is not required – see the RF1 instructions for form submission details.

For additional business assistance, contact NYC Small Business Services. Please note in the How can we help you? field that you were referred by the NYC Department of Buildings per Local Law 28 of 2019.

NYC SBS will conduct a seminar providing guidance for food service businesses interested in applying for loans and grants. In addition to providing an overview of the SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Grant, SBS will share tips to consider before taking on debt, an overview of documents commonly required to apply for a loan, and a summary of other loans and grants that are currently available for NYC businesses.

It will be held on Wednesday, April 7, from 10 am to 11 am.

Apply here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/applying-for-restaurant-loans-grants-in-nyc-qns-4721-tickets-147841051565?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

A link to the webinar will be sent approx. two days before and 20 minutes before the event. Please check your email and spam. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.

The deadline to apply for the federal Paycheck Protection Program is March 31, 2021. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to contact your lender or visit nyc.gov/ppp to get 1-on-1 support, access webinars, and find other resources to help you apply.   Need help finding a PPP lender? Check out the list of Community Development Financial Institutions accepting applications here https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sbs/downloads/pdf/businesses/PPP2_NYC_CDFIs.pdf

NYC Restaurants Can Expand to Half Capacity Indoors Starting March 19, according to the Governor’s Office.

The newly-enacted stimulus bill allocates $28.6 billion to assist restaurants, food trucks, bars, and street vendors in paying their back rent, mortgages, and some other expenses.

New York State is establishing phases for distribution based on federal guidance, and we are working closely with our government partners to make sure everyone who is eligible has access to the vaccine.

For information about who is currently eligible and where to get the vaccine, please visit the NYC Vaccine Command Center website.

Who is eligible?

Right now, the following New Yorkers are eligible to get the vaccine, with the full eligibility list available on the NYC Health Department website:

• Grocery store workers, including convenience store and bodega workers
• Restaurant and Restaurant Delivery workers
• Regional food bank workers
• Food pantry workers
• Permitted home-delivered meal program workers
• Hotel workers who have direct contact with guests
• And full list of eligible groups is online.

How to make an appointment?

Eligible New Yorkers can find vaccination sites and make an appointment online at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov or by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (1-877-829-4692).

People who are eligible based on their employment must attest that their job requires them to have in-person contact with members of the public or with co-workers, or that they are unable to work remotely.

They must also have proof of employment in New York, such as an employee ID card, a signed letter from their employer or affiliated organization, a recent pay stub (depending on specific priority status), or proof of work via an application (e.g., Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc.).

These documents will not be used as legal proof of your employment status, and they will not be collected. Their only purpose is to confirm eligibility for vaccination. Visit here for information about proof of eligibility.

On Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 9 am ET, SBA will establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees. This will give lenders and community partners more time to work with the smallest businesses to submit their applications, while also ensuring that larger PPP-eligible businesses will still have plenty of time to apply for and receive support before the program expires on March 31, 2021.

SBA also announced four additional changes to open the PPP to more underserved small businesses than ever before. While these changes are being implemented, SBA will work with community partners to improve the emergency relief “digital front door” and conduct extensive stakeholder outreach. And, SBA will strengthen its relationships with lender partners to advance equity goals, deliver funding efficiently, and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. SBA will:

• Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants;
• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal; 
• Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make student loan payments by eliminating student loan debt delinquency as a disqualifier to participating in the PPP; and
• Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.
   

A critical goal from Congress for the latest round of PPP was to reach small and low- and moderate-income (LMI) businesses who have not received the needed relief a forgivable PPP loan provides. Congress set a $15B set-aside for small and LMI first draw borrowers. With existing policies, the current round has only deployed $2.4B to small LMI borrowers, in part because a disproportionate amount of funding in both wealthy and LMI areas is going to firms with more than 20 employees. The less than 20 exclusivity period combined with the changes to expand access for sole proprietors, ITINs, returning citizens, and student loan debt will help us achieve Congressional goals.
 

NYC restaurants and bars indoor seating will be allowed to increase to 35% of capacity effective Feb. 26. The rest of the state remains at 50%.

Governor Cuomo has announced that localities may add restaurant workers, taxi drivers, and those at facilities for the developmentally disabled to the Phase 1b vaccine prioritization group.