Morris Park Business Improvement District
Newsletter Year II, Issue 7 - April 29, 2021

  • Reopening guidelines revised for restaurants and bars
  • Restaurant Revitalization Act - application opening!
  • Fair Share NYC Restaurants
  • NYC Vaccines for all
Reopening guidelines revised for restaurants & bars
  • The State legislature has lifted the requirement to purchase a food item with alcoholic beverages, effective immediately.
  • Patron seating will be allowed at bar areas in NYC beginning May 3. Businesses will still need to ensure 6 feet distancing between parties (i.e. groups of patrons). 
  • The indoor dining midnight (12am) curfew will be lifted beginning May 31.
  • The outdoor dining midnight (12am) curfew will be lifted May 17. This change applies to private outdoor areas, and closing times are subject to a business’s liquor license stipulations.
  • For NYC Open Restaurants street and roadway seating, the current 12am closing hour will remain in effect until further notice.
  • The 1am curfew for catered events where attendees have proof of vaccination status or negative COVID test result will be lifted beginning May 17. The curfew for all catered events will be lifted May 31. 
  • Catered events can resume at private residences beginning May 3 in accordance with State's Reopening Guidelines. 
IMPORTANT
Restaurant Revitalization Act - application opening!
The federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) program will provide non-taxable grants to restaurants, bars, and other food and beverage businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis. Individual establishments may qualify for up to $5 million and restaurant groups may be eligible for up to $10 million in grant funding. This grant is designed to reimburse a business for any revenue lost between 2019 and 2020. 
RRF Portal Registration will Open on 
Friday, April 30 at 9am (EDT) at: 
RRF Applications will Open on 
Monday, May 3 at 12pm noon (EDT).
Eligible Businesses:
Restaurants; Bars; Tasting rooms; Lounges; Taprooms; Taverns; Food trucks; Other businesses with the primary purpose of serving the public food and drink. 
Businesses that are part of an affiliated group with more than 20 locations, publicly traded, and/or have a pending application under the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program are not eligible. 
You may apply for a grant if you received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, but you must deduct that amount from your total grant amount. 
The first 21 days of this grant program will be prioritizing veteran-, women-, and minority-owned businesses.  
Eligible businesses are advised to prepare in advance by:
Determining where and how you will apply
If you have a POS vendor, determine whether they will offer RRF applications. Currently, Clover, Square, Toast and NCR are authorized; more may be added
If you plan to apply directly at the SBA site, you can set up an account ahead of time at restaurants.sba.gov
Review the application form (SBA Form 3172) and collect necessary documentation
Businesses launched from January 1, 2020 onward should identify eligible spending from February 15, 2020 through March 11, 2021, as this will be the basis for their application.
Fair Share NYC: Restaurants
The Office of the Mayor, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and the NYC Dept. of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner, announced Fair Share NYC: Restaurants, a program to connect restaurants to federal relief funds of up to $5 million per establishment. Anyone considering applying is urged to start organizing their application. See below for more information on the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).  
Fair Share NYC will help eligible applicants secure these critical funds through: 
  • Weekly webinars to review the RRF grant program and prepare their application
  • Virtual one-on-one sessions with trained counselors 
  • Information about additional programs and services that can help your business 
NYC Vaccines for All
Everyone 16 years and older is now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. You can make appointments at vaccine sites throughout New York City at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov or by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).
New Yorkers ages 16+ can now get their COVID-19 vaccine without an appointment at select sites across NYC: http://on.nyc.gov/walkupvax. 
New Yorkers ages 50 and older can walk into any City-run site and get vaccinated without an appointment. For information about who is eligible and where to get the vaccine, please visit the NYC Vaccine Command Center website.  
The PPP application period has been extended until May 31, 2021. We strongly advise all businesses that did not apply previously to pursue this funding opportunity. Free application assistance is available at smallbiz.nyc
NYPD 49th Precinct Neighborhood Coordination Officers contacts
Officer Patrick Nicewicz (917) 327-6298   Patrick.Nicewicz@NYPD.Org
Officer Stephen Brancatelli (917) 826-9562 Stephen.Brancatelli@NYPD.org
Sign up for the NYPD 49th Precinct email notification list: Businesses that would like to be added to the NYPD 49th Precinct email notification list, please send your information (business name, contact person and email) to one of the emails above, to receive direct notifications from NYPD.
Morris Park Business Improvement District
morrisparkbid.org
966 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY  US  10462
Morris Park Avenue News, Year II, Issue 7, April 29, 2021