DEAR NOHO HOSPITALITY FRIENDS AND FAMILY,
We are writing after watching other companies and leaders in other cities band together to drive change in the face of this most unprecedented time that has already wreaked havoc on us all personally and professionally. New York should be leading this pact, particularly knowing how hard this pandemic is going to hit our beloved communities here.
Our industry is disaggregated and without a prominent, unified voice for us, by us relating to what we need from both the public and private sectors. We currently are ignored by lawmakers, which has been true for as long as we can remember. Case in point, our independently owned businesses have not been given a substantive seat at the table during Congressional relief conversations, as opposed to our coordinated fast food and chain counterparts. As we've continued to get so heavily regulated, the grave irony is now we have been left alone without clear directives or assistance from the government. We can't allow this to continue.
We are creating a New York based hospitality organization, Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR), with a simple goal: to wake up the public and lawmakers by raising our voice, unified and strong, while we still have a fighting chance.
The ask is simple for now: Sign our letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and spread the word to others you know. We have connections at the highest levels of state government and plan to usher this letter directly in order to get a seat at the table and our needs met in the third relief bill.
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