NYC cinemas say they ‘won’t make it’ unless seating regulations lifted

A trade group claims New York City movie theaters may not survive the pandemic unless Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifts state restrictions on seating capacity.

The National Association of Theater Owners said Tuesday it has been lobbying for New York City cinemas to be allowed to raise their capacity to 50 percent from the current 25 percent by Memorial Day and to 75 percent or more by July 4. “We are at the Governor’s door every morning with a call or an email trying to get to a minimum of 50 percent right now across the state, given the fact that there are zero cases of COVID from theaters and that people clearly want to go to the movies,” NATO president Joe Masher told Deadline.