Businesses around New York are still struggling to stay afloat as they navigate capacity limits and added costs.

The hospitality and tourism industry is the third largest industry in state, and it’s also one of the hardest hit sectors.

To put it in perspective, the hospitality and tourism industry usually employs more than 1 million New Yorkers.

Right now? Only 250,000 are still employed.

“You’ve lost 750,000 jobs in New York state since the shutdown,” said Mark Dorr, president of the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association. “So it’s going to be some really bleak winter months, unless we get that federal stimulus.”

Federal assistance cannot come soon enough for many of these businesses around the state.

Amusement parks have been closed for almost an entire year, and this has had a domino effect on the tourism industry as a whole.

Fewer people are traveling, which means less money is being invested back into hotels and communities across the state.

Dorr said businesses like these need assurance that they will be allowed to reopen next year and prioritized in the next round of federal funding.

“We need them to be able to open in some capacity,” Dorr said. “We need some guidelines. Because as I said as they go, the industry goes, because they draw so many people. So hopefully the stimulus will be prioritized.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo is also expected to lower indoor dining capacity from 50 percent to 25 percent at the end of the week for upstate bars and restaurants if hospitalization numbers statewide continue to increase.  

Dorr said that this will essentially close many of these businesses, and for hotels that have restaurants in their buildings, this means even less money coming in.

“What we’ve heard from a lot of our hotel members with restaurants within them is that when those rents do come due, they’re not going to have the money to pay,” Dorr explained. “They’re going to have to close up the restaurant, which has a domino effect for hotel members because that helps pay the mortgage on the building.”

Federal assistance might not be enough, however, to save all these businesses, and even with a budget deficit, many are hoping the state will step in as well.  

Senator Diane Savino and Assemblyman Mike Cusick introduced a package of five different bills aimed at protecting businesses, including requiring insurance companies to cover losses sustained because of the pandemic.

“We decided to take a look at who hasn’t participated really in helping with the recovery and that’s largely the insurance industry,” Senator Savino explained. “Almost all of these businesses, large and small, purchase business interruption insurance. Not a single insurer has paid one claim in the State of New York. They’ve hidden behind complicated language in their contracts saying they’re not required to pay and they’ve gotten away with murder.”

Within this legislative package is also a bill that would provide amnesty for struggling businesses from fines imposed by the State Liquor Authority.