TOP 10 PRIORITIES FOR 2025
The NYC Hospitality Alliance will continue to lead the charge for supportive policies and fight against harmful proposals targeting our industry. While our advocacy covers many issues, here are 10 key highlights you should know. Membership with the NYC Hospitality Alliance powers our efforts. If your restaurant, bar, or nightclub isn’t a member yet, click here to join today.
#1
Community Board and 311 Reforms
Community Boards play a key role in liquor and outdoor dining licenses, which are vital to the success of bars and restaurants. But appearing before Community Boards has become too bureaucratic, often involving confusing procedures, lengthy application forms, strict deadlines, and outsourced resident outreach requirements. People starting a new business must be treated fairly at Community Boards. We will push for reforms that reign in the Community Board bureaucracy and increase representation from small business owners and pro-hospitality residents, so that each Community Board's procedures are sensible, and their actions reflect the interests of the entire community. Additionally, we’ll advocate for penalties against individuals who make repeated, false 311 complaints to harass businesses.
#2
Getting Scaffolding (Sidewalk Sheds) Down
Advocate for the scaffolding (sidewalk sheds) reform. These structures protect people from building construction and falling debris, however, scaffolding left up for long periods harms restaurants and bars. The effects range from losing business, a reduction of employee hours and layoffs, it creates unsightly conditions and invites problematic behavior, and is a factor in some businesses closing. Reforms such as time limits on scaffolding, enhanced inspection oversight, aesthetic improvements, and financial support for affected businesses, among others are essential.
#3
Labor Law Compliance Support
With New York’s frequent changes to overly complicated labor laws, small businesses face growing operational burdens, legal and financial risks. In addition to fighting against and for changes to some of these laws, we’ll advocate for the creation of a 24/7 hotline providing free legal counsel to businesses, so they save money on legal fees, along with a guarantee that businesses following this advice won’t be held financially liable for violations.
#4
No Credit Card Fees on Sales Tax and Tips
We’ll advocate to eliminate credit card fees on sales tax and tips. Since businesses are required by law to collect sales tax on behalf of the government, they shouldn’t have to pay lots of money in credit card fees on that amount. Similarly, tips, are workers’ wages and fully owned by employees, should not be subject to these fees.
#5
Outdoor Dining Improvements
We’ll continue to advocate to improve the city’s outdoor dining program, including allowing enclosures on sidewalk cafes in colder months, allow for a year-round roadway café option, restoring pre-pandemic sidewalk café clearances for more seating, and making technical changes to streamline the process and reduce costs for restaurants.
#6
Reducing Fines and Tax Reform
We’ll keep working to reduce unnecessary fines on small businesses and create a regulatory environment focused on education and training first, with fines and penalties as a last resort. Permanently repeal the unfair New York City only imposed Liquor License tax that is not levied on businesses elsewhere in the state, but only on licensees in the five boroughs, and repeal of the unjust Commercial Rent Tax for storefronts like restaurants and bars that is levied on many high rent burdened businesses.
#7
RRF, SBA and PPP Loan Forgiveness
Far too many eligible restaurants and bars were shut out of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and forced to take on SBA emergency loans during the pandemic, or unable to meet PPP forgiveness requirements leading to crippling debt. This debt will harm these small businesses for decades. We’ll advocate for loan forgiveness as a way for the government to right a wrong and provide relief to businesses
#8
Save the Tip Credit and Fairer Laws
We’ll continue to fight against efforts to eliminate the tip credit, which could cost restaurants an additional $12,000 per year to employ each full-time tipped employee. Do the math! Losing the tip credit would threaten small businesses, lead to job cuts, and have many negative impacts like those seen in D.C., since they began phasing it out. We’ll also support fairer and better tipping and employment laws like expanding tip pool eligibility and fixing the broken 80/20 Rule.
#9
Stop the Proposed SWEAT/Lien/Attachment, Sales Tax ID and Liquor License Revocation Bills
We’ll keep fighting to stop scary unconstitutional proposals that lack due process for employers like the SWEAT/Lien/Attachment Bills that would let a lien be placed on the personal assets of the owners, certain investors, and some managers of a business based solely on the accusations of a wage violation, not a judicial finding. Other proposals, if enacted, would suspend or revoke a liquor license based only on an accusation of a violation too.
#10
Streamline Permitting and Licensing
We’ll keep pushing to cut red tape and reduce government bureaucracy, helping restaurants, bars, and nightclubs open and expand faster—with fewer delays, less hassle, and lower costs.