No propane for you!
The city’s latest move is cold — and for struggling restaurants already battered by the fallout from the pandemic, things are about to get colder.
The mayor on Wednesday announced the ban of propane heaters for all NYC restaurants, the very lifeblood of business last winter, icing out both restaurateurs and diners.
“Small businesses can’t afford not to seat all winter long. They’re going to run haphazard wires from their restaurant with electrical and extension cords and put electrical heaters probably tied up to some kind of wood or fabric.”
Morfogen, founder of Chinese mainstay Phillippe Chow, predicted, “When they start running extension cords and there’s water and then it’s tied to wood or canvas, you’re going to have an insane amount of fires,” he said.
“It’s going to backfire for sure — no pun intended,” Morfogen said.
Insiders complain that there’s another problem with electric heaters — they don’t actually keep people warm.
“They don’t do the job — the BTUs on the electric doesn’t cut it. It’s like a gas stove compared to an electric griddle,” said Mallios.
“Every summer, every suburban home has a propane tank,” he said of the ubiquitous propane grills lining many outdoor spaces. “You hear about more drownings in swimming pools than a propane accident.”
