New York (AFP)

Pressure is mounting for authorities to allow New York City restaurants to serve indoors again, but the governor is refusing to back down for now, despite legal action.

Thanks to the good figures which have shown, for several weeks, that the transmission of the coronavirus is now low in the metropolis, many voices have been raised in recent days to demand the total reopening of restaurants.

"New York must end confinement now," tweeted former New Yorker US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

"The governor and the mayor are destroying the city!"

Establishments that serve food in New York City have been permitted, since June 22, to accommodate outdoor customers, and the city has issued hundreds of permits to allow them to create or expand their outdoor space.

"It is time" to allow restaurants to accommodate dining room customers, City Council President Corey Johnson said Wednesday, for whom such a measure is "crucial".

According to a New York Times study, which relies on data from the Yelp site, nearly 900 restaurants have closed permanently since the start of the pandemic.

Some 64% of New York state establishments still in operation plan to have to go out of business by the end of the year if they do not receive federal aid, according to a poll released Thursday.

On Tuesday, several restaurateurs went to court to obtain permission to serve inside.

The action is supported by the leader of the Republican opposition in New York, Nicole Malliotakis, for whom the measures in place "are discriminatory" against the city of New York, "for no reason".

All the other counties in New York State have all lifted these restrictions several weeks ago.

Tuesday, the governor of the state, Andrew Cuomo, ruled out the possibility of a reopening in the short term, believing that the means to control the device were not met.

"It would be negligent and reckless to allow room service (...) knowing that meeting standards will be a problem and that you have no control mechanism," said Andrew Cuomo, putting involved the inadequacies of the municipality, according to him.

He estimated at 10,000 the number of establishments that would be affected by a reopening in New York, and should limit their capacity inside to a percentage of what it was before the pandemic.

© 2020 AFP