NYC Operators Form New Lobbying Group

There are a million stories in the big city, and one restaurant association just is not big enough for all of them. Three hundred restaurateurs, bar and lounge owners, hotel executives and liquor distributors have created a new trade group, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, to lobby legislators and city regulatory agencies in the city’s five boroughs.

The group will compete for memberships and influence with the New York State Restaurant Association, which counts 1,000 members among its New York City chapter; those members own 5,000 restaurants, about a fifth of the city’s total. The NYSRA also has 7,000 members outside the five boroughs. Businesses can belong to both organizations, according to Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the new group.

“The city needs a broad-based independent organization that can focus all its resources, full time, on the needs of New York City businesses,” stated Rigie, the former executive v.p. of the state association’s New York City chapter.

The Alliance will formally launch in September. Its agenda includes pursuing the creation of a city-based office of hospitality affairs, securing a more responsive and flexible health department and working with government agencies to ensure public safety while reducing financial penalties and regulatory burdens.