December 2020 Rent Report

By NYC Hospitality Alliance

92 PERCENT OF NYC RESTAURANTS COULD NOT AFFORD DECEMBER RENT

Industry Rent Crisis Worsens as Pandemic Drags On

– Percentage of Restaurants That Couldn’t Afford Rent by Month:

June 80%; July 83%; August 87%; October 88%; December 92% –

NEW YORK, NY, February 16, 2021 – The return of indoor dining in New York City couldn’t come soon enough for struggling Big Apple restaurants, as a new survey by the NYC Hospitality Alliance reveals 92 percent of more than 400 respondents couldn’t afford to pay December rent, a number that has steadily increased since the start of the pandemic. In June, 80 percent of restaurants could not afford to pay rent; July 83 percent; August 87 percent; and October 88 percent.

The year-end figures are dismal for the future of the “Restaurant Capital of the World.” Before Covid-19, New York City was home to over 25,000 restaurants, bars and nightclubs that employed 325,000 people. Thousands of eating and drinking establishments have already permanently closed as a result of the pandemic and accompanying restrictions, and the industry shed more than 140,000 jobs in the last year.

According to more than 400 respondents representing New York City’s restaurants, bars, and nightlife establishments, only 40 percent of tenants’ landlords reduced rent in relation to Covid-19; only 36 percent of tenants’ landlords deferred rent in relation to Covid-19; and only 14 percent of businesses have been able to successfully renegotiate leases (61 percent have not, 24 percent are in “good faith” negotiations).

https://thenycalliance.org/information/december-2020-rent-report