Big city restaurant owners in New York and California are frustrated after lawmakers banned indoor dining and flip-flopped on bathroom restrictions, driving away even more of their customers amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
In New York, local lawmakers implemented a new rule Thursday barring outdoor diners from using indoor restrooms at restaurants, only to backtrack shortly after an outcry from business owners and patrons alike.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that a fact sheet sent out by the city the previous evening, which barred customers from entering the interior of restaurants for any reason, was "a mistake." The rules are set by the state, not the de Blasio administration, said Bill Neidhardt, the mayor's.