East End Restaurants May Offer Outdoor Dining as Soon as Next Week

Hamptons and North Fork restaurants will soon be open for outdoor dining, perhaps as early as next week, according to an announcement from NY Governor and Southampton resident Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday, June 3.

Cuomo’s announcement today noted that outdoor dining at restaurants will be permitted in Phase Two of New York State’s planned reopening following shutdown and stay-at-home orders that came more than two months ago as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began sweeping communities in multiple regions, especially in the five boroughs of New York City, the Metropolitan Area and both Suffolk and Nassau counties on Long Island.

Restaurants in the seven NY regions that have already entered phase two—including the Capital Region, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, the Southern Tier and Western New York—will be allowed to reopen for outdoor dining starting tomorrow, Thursday, June 4. In order to take part in this phase of Governor Cuomo’s New York Forward reopening plan, restaurants in these regions must space outdoor tables 6 feet apart, all staff will be required to wear face coverings, and customers must  wear face coverings when not seated.

These rules will also be in effect when Long Island enters Phase Two, which is currently on track to begin next week, according to State Assemblyman Fred Thiele (NY-1), who also shared the Governor’s announcement to his East End constituents on Wednesday.

Long Island entered Phase One of the NY State reopening plan last Wednesday, May 27. This allowed low-risk, nonessential businesses with stronger economic impact and a relatively safe environment for workers and customers to begin operating again, including the construction, manufacturing, agriculture, wholesale trade and even retail sectors, as long as retailers offered curbside or in-store pickup and drop off. All businesses were required to have a COVID-19 health and safety plan to limit possibility of spreading infection.

The Governor also confirmed 1,045 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 374,085 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 374,085 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, Suffolk County has a disproportionate 40,062 cases, including 82 new positives. Still, Cuomo said the fight against COVID-19 is still happening, but it is “going better than it has ever gone in New York,” adding, “We have the lowest number of hospitalizations ever and we have the lowest death toll ever.”

A complete guide to Governor Cuomo’s New York Forward reopening plan is available at forward.ny.gov.