With the threat of holiday-related COVID-19 spread passed, restaurants across New York are reopening for indoor dining — except for restaurants in the state's biggest city. New York City restaurateurs are fighting back for their very survival. Seaport House owner and executive chef Kian Khatibi is pushing on with a lawsuit, filed in December, demanding immediate reopening of indoor dining.
Khatibi opened Seaport House, a seafood joint in the historic South Street Seaport district, on October 31 in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building out and opening a restaurant amid the pandemic was no cakewalk, but neither is operating.
"Right now, you know, we're running on an empty tank. Every day pays our bills. And that's about it," he said.
The new restaurant got to enjoy less than two months of indoor dining, albeit at significantly reduced capacity, before New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo cracked down again. As of mid-December, indoor dining closed down again, indefinitely, as COVID-19 cases spiked across the state and nation.
But the data behind the governor's decision didn't sit well with Khatibi, who is also a licensed attorney. According to data collected by the state, bars and restaurants are responsible for roughly 1.4 percent of new coronavirus infections. By contrast, the top contributor to spread, private gatherings, accounts for a whopping 74 percent of infections.
He decided to sue, arguing that indoor dining saves lives by giving people something to do other than gather in private homes.
"People are congregating," said Migir Ilganayev, Khatibi's co-council on the case. "By shutting down indoor dining, places that are safe, that are ventilated, that provide UVC lights in the ceilings, open windows — when you take that away from the people, especially during the holiday season, they'll find a place to go."
Although many cases questioning the constitutionality of lockdown orders have been slapped down by judges, Ilganayev said he thinks they have a chance because "numbers don't lie."
The case is heading to court for a preliminary injunction hearing on Jan. 21.
The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating to the restaurant industry, which even in the best of times is a business with very slim margins. More than 1,000 restaurants have shut down permanently in New York City, alone, according to Eater.
A relative newcomer to New York City's restaurant scene, Seaport House is getting by, thanks largely to an expensive outdoor seating installation. But even the optimistic Khatibi knows times ahead will be tough if indoor dining remains shut down amid winter.
"You know, we just have to make it to March," he said.
AI-based adtech firm Adtheorent released its first earnings report as a public company Thursday after the bell. The company went public via SPAC deal in December and has since seen strong profit and revenue growth, with connected TV increasing 220 percent in Q4. Jim Lawson, CEO, AdTheorent, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The February jobs report shows the U.S. added 678,000 jobs, much more than the expected 440,000. The unemployment rate dropped down to 3.8% as Covid cases have fallen sharply since their peak in mid-Janurary. William M. Rodgers III, Vice President & Director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to break down the report.
Major League Baseball has officially canceled opening day after no deal was reached between the league and its players before Tuesday's deadline. The first two series of the 2022 season were set to begin on March 31, but the players rejected the owners' 'best offer.' David Salituro, sports writer for Fansided, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
It has now been two days since Major League Baseball moved to cancel opening day games for the upcoming season. The announcement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred came during the league's ongoing work stoppage, just the ninth in MLB history. Owners voted unanimously on December 2, 2021 to enact a lockout after the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players expired. On March 1, 2022, following over a week of daily negotiations between the two sides, and three months of on and off negotiations, the league officially canceled the first two series of the regular season. Gabe Lacques, MLB reporter and baseball editor for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Stocks around the world tumbled Friday after even a gangbusters report on the U.S. jobs market wasn’t enough to pull Wall Street’s focus off its worries about the war in Ukraine.
Employers added 678,000 jobs in February, another solid gain that underscored the economy’s robust health as the omicron wave fades and more Americans venture out to spend at restaurants, shops, and hotels despite surging inflation.
Mark Clerkin, Head of Trading at CoinList, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on the range of features his platform offers, from investing in up-and-coming tokens to trading, and says his company is eager to partner with Block CEO Jack Dorsey on future projects.
Music-focused NFT platform Pianity raising $6.5 million in a seed funding round. Pianity has developed a marketplace that allows musicians to sell their tracks as limited edition NFTs. Since its launch last year, the company says it has already sold 11,000 NFTs and artists have earned over $1.1 million from NFT sales. Kevin Primicerio, co-founder and CEO of Pianity, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
