Court Strikes Down NYC Mayor’s Emergency Executive Orders Propping Up Pandemic Open Restaurants Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAYOR URGED TO PRIORITIZE TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC INTEREST IN OUTDOOR DINING PROGRAM
New York, NY (August 2, 2023) In a long-awaited decision, State Supreme Court Judge Arlene P. Bluth declared the Mayor’s emergency executive orders suspending local laws to allow for continuous outdoor dining in New York City violate the state law which limits the permissible triggers and length of any such mayoral decrees. The unambiguous ruling calls into question the future of the Temporary Open Restaurants Program as the City Council is poised to vote on controversial legislation making permanent the unlawful program.
Judge Bluth's scathing critique of Mayor Adams’ Executive Order sends a clear message: "The local laws suspended by the executive order required that certain areas, like sidewalks and streets, are public places and not places for private establishments to run their businesses." The court unequivocally rejected any notion of unchecked executive power, stating, "This court declines to embrace a theory of judicial review that would permit unlimited actions by an executive without any check by the judicial branch."
The ruling exposed the mayoral order's wholly inadequate justification for suspending local laws. Judge Bluth concluded: "The court finds that this executive order fails to offer a rational justification for suspending [twenty-six] local laws to permit outdoor dining. Simply put, the Court finds that the order did not sufficiently explain why an emergency exists that requires the suspension of certain local laws."
The court agreed with the thirty-four petitioners from across the city who claimed that the emergency economic conditions used to justify the mayor’s overreach no longer exist. Judge Bluth minced no words, stating, "The problem here is that respondent has not adequately explained that an emergency involving an immediate or imminent danger still exists to justify the suspension of local laws."
As a result of the court’s ruling, the City may not rely on emergency orders to support its beleaguered Temporary Open Restaurants Program. Simply put, Temporary Open Restaurants has no basis in law and should immediately be phased out.
Attorney Michael Sussman, representing the petitioners, noted, "For two years, we have fought to preserve the rule of law and the dignity and peaceable enjoyment of our streets for the residents of [the City]. Today, the State Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the unjust Temporary Open Restaurants Program, which was precariously propped up by two bankrupt executive orders. The Temporary Open Restaurants program is without legs or stilts or any other support and should now be dismantled.”
"The City Council, not the Mayor, must act if New York City is to have a legitimate Open Restaurants program,” asserted Sussman. “We demand that the City Council adheres to lawful processes, including a proper environmental review, which they have conveniently neglected for more than two and a half years.”
"It is high time the city stops doing end runs around transparency and environmental review. The City Council has one choice: do the right thing, or we will see them in court," added Leif Arntzen for CueUp, a leading advocacy group.
Today’s ruling makes clear that the architects of the Open Restaurants program have cut corners and sidestepped lawful procedures in keeping a pandemic program in place long after that emergency ended.
“Accountability is paramount in the governance of our city," said Leslie Clark, a spokesperson for CueUp. "The way to get this right is by conducting a comprehensive Environmental Impact Study, free from the influence of special interest lobbyists. This is an opportunity for Mayor Adams and the City Council to demonstrate a commitment to developing a dining program that works for all New Yorkers.”
Read Judge Bluth’s ruling on e-Track:
For media inquiries, interviews, or more information, please contact:
Leslie Clark | 646-761-8620
Leif Arntzen | 917-930-8508
Attorney Michael Sussman | 845-590-8102
Email: cueup.ny@gmail.com