Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D-Utica/Rome) announced that legislation she authored to provide a credit for food establishments that were forced to close due to COVID-19 when they renew their retail, on-premise liquor license passed the Assembly (A.10563-A).

“It’s absolutely critical that we do all that we can to support our small businesses so they’re in the best position to succeed as we safely reopen New York State,” Buttenschon said. “The COVID-19 pandemic forced the state to enact unprecedented measures to protect the health of our communities. While necessary, these actions have unfortunately had huge economic impacts on local businesses, particularly restaurants and bars. I sponsored this legislation to provide expanded relief to these establishments in these trying times.”

According to an April survey by the National Restaurant Association, New York State’s restaurants and bars were estimated to have lost billions of dollars in sales each month during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey also revealed that more than 527,000 restaurant employees had been laid off or furloughed, which represents 80% of the employees working at New York’s eating and drinking establishments in February.

Buttenschon’s bill gives the State Liquor Authority the ability to provide a credit on liquor license renewals based on the amount of time businesses were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation will help ensure restaurants and bars aren’t penalized for following the governor’s executive orders, noted Buttenschon.