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Over One Third Of NYC Restaurants And Bars Surveyed Couldn't Pay Last Month's Rent
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Sydney Pereira
Published Aug 3, 2020
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By
Sydney Pereira
Published Aug 3, 2020
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Some 37 percent of bars, restaurants, and other nightlife establishments were so broke they couldn't pay rent in July, according to a new survey released by the NYC Hospitality Alliance.
Eighty-three percent of businesses couldn't pay all of the rent, or weren't sure how much they'd be able to pay, the survey also found.
The new findings, based on responses from nearly 500 business owners in the hospitality industry across the city, paint a bleak picture for bars and restaurants (of which there are around 27,000 citywide), despite efforts to keep them afloat with outdoor dining, to-go drinks, and a smattering of loan programs.
"Restaurants and nightlife venues are essential to the economic and social fabric of our city, but they are struggling to survive and absent immediate and sweeping relief so many will be forced to close permanently," the alliance's executive director Andrew Rigie said in a statement.
The alliance collected information from 471 restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and event venues between July 15th and 28th.
In addition to struggling to pay rent, the survey found that 28.6 percent of landlords had waived some rent during the COVID-19. Of those landlords, one-third waived more than half the rent, while about 42 percent waived half the rent.
Even so, more than 71 percent of landlords didn't change the rent payments at all.
Sixty-two percent of owners who responded to the survey have not renegotiated their lease with landlords due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 28 percent are "in good faith negotiations." About 10 percent were able to renegotiate.
Currently, NYC is barred indefinitely from indoor dining as part of the overall effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Outdoor dining on sidewalks and in the streets is permitted in some locations through the Open Restaurants program, but the alliance says it is not enough to cover the businesses' expenses.
"While complying with the necessary pause, our industry has been uniquely and financially [devastated]," Rigie said.
The city, state, and federal government have laid out various loan programs for small businesses, but the money has either dried up too quickly or posed barriers for some establishments to benefit from. Rigie has called for more funds to help with "infusing small businesses with enough cash to weather the storm."
He called for an extension on the commercial tenant eviction moratorium—which expires August 20th—pausing commercial rent taxes, and providing landlords with support. He also called for an extension on suspending a clause in leases that allows for landlords to seek payments through owners' personal assets—called the personal liability guarantee. The clause was suspended under City Council legislation passed in May, but it's scheduled to expire at the end of September.
Caitlin Girouard, a spokesperson from Governor Andrew Cuomo's office, emphasized the moratorium on commercial evictions had been extended to August 20th, but didn't answer whether the Governor plans to extend it or not.
The Mayor's office deferred to the Department of Small Business Services; the agency's spokesperson Samantha Keitt said, "We understand the enormous pressures business owners are facing with rent and SBS has been here to make sure these businesses are well supported since the beginning of the pandemic."
Keitt said the agency has assisted 200 small businesses understand legal requirements under leases and connected more than 150 businesses to City Bar Justice Center for legal assistance on commercial leasing, insurance, contracts, and other issues.
"We will continue to fight for our small businesses and get them the help they need during this time," Keitt said.
Last week during a briefing, de Blasio claimed "a lot of [restaurants] are reporting they actually have more seating outdoors than they had indoors before, and a lot of them are seeing tremendous customer response and are getting a lot of revenue, thank God, I'm hearing this directly from restaurant owners."
This article has been updated with a comment from the Small Business Services and the Governor's office.
Tagged
COVID-19
hospitality industry
coronavirus
service industry
restaurants
small businesses
Sydney Pereira
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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