#Why saving NYC’s bars and restaurants is vital for the whole state

Half of Gotham’s bars and restaurants could close for good within six months — taking more than 150,000 jobs with them — state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned this week. That means big trouble for the whole state.

At the pandemic’s height, city bar and restaurant tax receipts fell 71 percent; nearly three-quarters of the industry’s 315,000 or so workers were unemployed. By August, employment was still only 55 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

These New Yorkers accounted for about one in 12 private-sector jobs, pre-lockdown. Industry job growth was 61 percent over the last decade, double the overall growth rate.

Wake up, Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo: The industry accounted for $27 billion in taxable sales last year — 15 percent of the state total. So if the restaurant industry goes, so do the city’s and state’s finances.

Outdoor dining is no solution: As DiNapoli noted, only 44 percent of restaurants have used outdoor seating — even in the warm months. Indoor dining at a pathetic 25 percent capacity won’t do enough more.

Cuomo’s “you can’t drink unless you eat” dictates and arbitrary enforcement are a huge drag on these establishments. And de Blasio’s humblebrag that he won’t eat inside any Gotham establishment only twists the knife.

Bars and restaurants can’t survive at 25 percent. They still have to pay their full electricity bills and rent — and 87 percent of them couldn’t make August rent.

Bars and restaurants are the city’s lifeblood. Cuomo and de Blasio must allow them to open further so their employees can make a living. The health of the state’s economy depends on