If a business impacts the livelihoods of thousands of New Yorkers can it really be ‘non-essential’? 

Seventy-five bars, restaurants, and venues in New York City, including many in North Brooklyn, have all joined a lawsuit leveled against Governor Cuomo this month over the terms of last spring’s Executive Order 202, which they say has been changed at least 87 times since then and has resulted in a “Kafkaesque nightmare.”

Some recognizable names in the suit include Our Wicked Lady, which is seeking almost $500,000 from the state; Ridgewood’s Bonus Room, which wants $275,000 and the miniature empire of Brooklyn bars and restaurants managed by Rafaello VanCouten, including Claudia’s in East Williamsburg and C. Lo’s in Ridgewood and which are seeking a whopping $10.3 million total from the state. The Richardson in East Williamsburg says that the restrictions have shuttered it’s business since the start of the pandemic and it’s cost them almost half a million dollars.The Williamsburg indie venue Baby’s All Right is also part of the million-dollar club and wants $2.6 million. The case is captioned in New York federal court as Our Wicked Lady LLC et al v. Cuomo.