New Yorkers Ask the Court to Shut the Open Restaurants Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PETITIONERS CITYWIDE ASSERT THAT SELECTIVE EMERGENCY ORDERS ARE EXECUTIVE OVERREACH
NEW YORK, NY (July 31, 2022) Residents from Brooklyn to the Bronx, from Manhattan to Queens, have filed an Article 78 lawsuit to end renewals of the emergency executive orders that authorize New York City’s temporary Open Restaurants program, and to end its operation.
The Open Restaurants program has been operating since June 2020. For nearly 26 months, this “temporary” program has circumvented both the zoning code and the New York City Charter through repeated renewals of emergency executive orders.
Representing the group is distinguished civil rights attorney Michael H. Sussman, Esq., who is also pursuing a separate action against the proposed Permanent Open Restaurants program. “Lawful conduct starts at the top. Public legitimacy depends on our leaders telling the truth,” said Sussman. “Executive orders extending the ‘temporary’ Open Restaurants program circumvent the law. The City has failed to comply with the processes state and city law contemplates when programs of this magnitude are considered and, instead, fenced out public participation. Our second lawsuit is a frontal attack on this lawlessness.”
Residents who were supportive of restaurants during the crisis that made temporary outdoor dining necessary say that the cumulative negative impacts on their neighborhoods are destroying their quality of life, and the abuse of executive power must end.
While New York state and city have suspended or abandoned all other pandemic emergency orders and programs — including test-and-trace, vaccine and mask mandates, home food deliveries for the elderly and shut-ins, and free hotel rooms for those with COVID who need to self-isolate, eviction protections, and enhanced unemployment benefits — emergency orders continue to be selectively issued for the benefit of the restaurant and nightlife industries.
Brooklyn Community Board 4 Chair Robert Camacho noted, “Mayor Adams says the emergency is over. He says everybody’s got to go back to the office to work. He wants everyone back at their workplaces — and we want our streets back. We want the restaurants open, but we don't want the sheds destroying our streets and neighborhood.”
“The Mayor's decision to keep renewing an emergency order for the hospitality and liquor industry that is no longer needed serves as another reminder that residents' quality of life and safety are not priorities, or perhaps, even seriously considered,” said public school teacher and Lower East Side resident Patrick Walsh.
“The bars/restaurants have simply taken over the streets,” said Hell's Kitchen petitioner Trina Semorile, a senior citizen with mobility impairments. “The willingness of politicians to allow this, at the expense of residents, harms the public at large, other businesses, and the ability of residents to the peaceful enjoyment of our homes.”
“Our lives are being harmed and disturbed with every emergency renewal that allows the sheds and sidewalk cafés to park in our neighborhoods,” explained Deborah Gonzalez, a petitioner and advocate for affordable housing and homeless services. “The emergency order that needs to happen right now is for our streets to be cleaned up and made safe, permanent housing for the homeless, and better subways.”
Case: DOUGLAS ARMER et al v. CITY OF NEW YORK et al
Contact: Leslie Clark
Phone: 646-761-8620
Contact: Cheri Leon
Phone: 518-304-4521
Email: cueup.nyc@gmail.com