NEW YORK (WABC) If people continue to be vaccinated at the current pace, New York City tourism officials predict up to 38 million visitors will travel to the city in 2021. That is up dramatically from last year, but still only about half the amount of people who visited in 2019.
New York City needs tourism to survive and the industry employs more than 400,000 people in the Tri-State area.
Tourism was one of the hardest-hit industries, but also an industry economists say could be the first to bounce back. They have expected an increase of visitors beginning this spring. Hopefully by the holiday season we will see a return of tourists, a return of all the restaurants, certainly a return of radio city music hall, Broadway shows, because that s what we really need, said Barbara Denham, a Senior CRE Economist with Moody s Analytics.
The much-anticipated reopening comes with changes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
AMC Lincoln Square opened at noon, and it s a different experience now.
Are you ready to go to the movies? Theaters finally reopen today in New York City. 25% capacity. pic.twitter.com/ljBXg1gPYL Derick Waller (@wallerABC7) March 5, 2021
You have to wear a mask unless you re eating or drinking, and there are no more self-serve beverage stations. An employee fills it for you instead.
Some things are not changing, though, like movie theater popcorn. But what many people are wondering is if the public will come back?
RELATED | NYC takes big step in combating COVID pandemic
Be Kind: Man donates homemade banana bread to show appreciation for essential workers
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Sean Reynolds of Brooklyn Banana Bread Co. is the owner of a delicious banana bread recipe.
Reynolds makes the sweet treats and gives them out to firehouses, police stations, nursing homes, and hospitals to show his appreciation throughout New York. I ve been donating the banana bread it s my mother s recipe. I ve been donated it to frontline workers and first responders throughout New York City, and beyond, doing every hospital in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens, said Reynolds, I have one hospital left in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and seven left in Manhattan.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea has tested positive for the coronavirus. "He's in touch with his executive staff. He's at home and he is running the department remotely," NYPD spokesman Rich Esposito told ABC News.
NY backtracks on rule that would have prevented outdoor diners from using a restaurant s bathroom
Other new outdoor dining restrictions still apply
By: WPIX Staff
and last updated 2020-12-18 10:29:36-05
NEW YORK CITY â The state of New York has reconsidered a controversial new restaurant rule that would have prohibited customers at New York City eateries from using restrooms while indoor dining is suspended, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio s office.
De Blasio s Press Secretary, Avery Cohen, tweeted the update after overnight backlash against the new rule. After discussions with the State, they have agreed to change the rule around bathroom access, Cohen wrote. (You can use the bathroom.) she wrote in a follow-up tweet.