Just this week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the City Council’s Personal Liability Bill, which adds a new section to the administrative code of the City of New York. It suspends the enforcement of personal liability provisions for commercial tenants which are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Personal Liability Bill is limited to personal guarantees for those triggered by defaults that occur between March 7, 2020 and September 30, 2020.
The suspension applies to businesses that were impacted by mandated closures and service limitations in the Governor's Executive Orders. Specifically, it covers:
- Businesses that were required to stop serving food or beverages on-premises (restaurants and bars)
- Businesses that were required to cease operations altogether (gyms, fitness centers, movie theaters)
- Retail businesses that were required to close and/or subject to in-person restrictions
- Businesses that were required to close to the public (barbershops, hair salons, tattoo or piercing parlors and related personal care services).