NEW YORK CITY – Almost nine out of ten restaurants, bars, and nightlife options in New York failed to pay full rent, according to a survey by the NYC Hospitality Alliance in August.
The survey of 450+ restaurants, bars and nightlife options found that 87% of businesses couldn't pay full rent and 34% couldn't pay rent at all in August. The number of restaurants unable to pay rent continued to rise this summer, although the city's infection rate has remained low. It rose from 83% in July and 80% in June.
Those numbers could shift if indoor dining is expected to resume at 25% occupancy on September 30th.
According to the survey, 60% of landlords have still not waived rent during the Covid-19 pandemic, and less than a third of landlords who have waived rent have waived more than 50%. The survey also found that 90% of respondents were unable to renegotiate their lease due to Covid-19.
Those companies have been financially devastated by the pandemic, Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said in prepared remarks. “The hospitality industry is vital to the economic and social fabric of New York. To ensure the survival of these important small businesses and jobs, we desperately need rent relief, a perpetual expansion of al fresco dining, a roadmap for expanded indoor dining and business interruption insurance, and immediate adoption of the Restaurants Act by Congress. "
