PIX 11 NEWS

By Steve Kuzj

The pandemic has been crushing for so many businesses, perhaps for none more than local restaurants, which have always depended on customers dining in.

When health departments shut down indoor public spaces across the country, enormous amounts of business dried up immediately for our local restaurants.

Last year, New York State lawmakers put together a $25 million fund aimed at helping restaurants replace some of that lost business by paying them to provide meals to citizens in need. It was called the Restaurant Resiliency Program.

State officials say 175 New York City restaurants were approved for the program, but less than half that number, only 64 restaurants, was actually given a portion of the money. For those who were lucky to get funds, it was transformative.

“The RRP really helped Uptown Veg in a big way,” Jasmine Myrick, an entrepreneur at Uptown Veg, said. “We were able to feed a lot of NYCHA residents.”

A group of New York City restaurants, the food relief organization Food Stream Network, along with the state and local leaders are calling for the restaurant resiliency program to be refunded with another $25 million in the new state budget.

Supporters say that state money will help some of the restaurants that missed out the first time, and others that still need some assistance to stay open.

“We have a serious problem with food insecurity and food lack in our communities, people who have been struggling with food long before the pandemic even,” New York Sen. Cordell Cleare said. “So, this program is really a win-win situation that helps our restaurants stay alive so they can rehire as we come through this pandemic, and it also feeds people in our community, making sure that they get proper nutrition, good nutrition.”

The Restaurant Resiliency Program needs to pass the New York State Senate and get the approval of Gov. Kathy Hochul if those millions of dollars are going to get into communities in need.

“If you have a minute, reach the governor’s office. Do the right thing, Governor Hochul. Do the right thing,” Lou Martins from the East Harlem Restaurant Association said.