open. we re still seeing omicron spreading like wild fire here. the mandates don t seem to be helping. your thoughts on how it is to try to conduct business in this environment. everybody i speak to says it s almost impossible. yeah, thanks for having me on the show. let s be clear about one thing. we opened in the pandemic. we opened september 1 of last year. we have not known a world that was not a pandemic business operating situation. we have pivoted every which way from sunday and the major instills another harsh penalty for small business. yeah, it s interesting. earlier in the press conference, the major said, this covid is bad for humans and bad for business. like he s blaming everything on covid. that s not what is happening here. as you say, restaurant owners are trying to get through this. unfortunately we lost tyler there. so we re not going to finish the
he suggested that mandate requirements for small businesses might change. meanwhile, the new year s eve celebration in times square is being scaled back because of the fast spreading omicron variant. instead of the usual 58,000 people washing in the streets, 15 people will be allowed. entry won t be allowed until 3:00 p.m. all revellers have to prove they re vaccinated and even though it s outdoors, everyone must wear a mask.speaking of new years eve, early next year, a number of cities are going to impose either new mandates or they re going to beef up existing mandates. the cities include chicago, new orleans and philadelphia. jackie? thanks, david. my next guest is not happy with the latest mandate. tyler hollinger from new york city. mayor bill de blasio says it s mandates that have kept the city
conversation at this moment. tyler, you are there? yeah, i m here. sorry about that. that s okay. we ve had cancellations every day since that announcement happened. no one is dying from this. the omni cold is just sniffles. the pandemic is spreading wide in the city but everyone is panicking. new year s eve reservations are down. i m hopeful that we can ride out this winter and still be here to see spring. i hear you. i had reservations i cancelled as well. part of the problem, the testing, the mandates. other countries have said let the young healthy people battle the virus. that s the only way we re going to end this pandemic. the reason i m cancelling reservations is because of all the things i won t get to do because of the rules in place. that s the problem here. yeah, i mean frankly i m really worried. i m worried about the
"To have the hospitality industry be the enforcement agency without compensation is ridiculous. Why should I be the bully kicking children out of my restaurant? It's absolutely insane."