Link to release if you want to read.
“Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation to crack down on the ‘black market’ for restaurant reservations. The bill prohibits third-party restaurant reservation services from arranging unauthorized reservations, putting an end to a predatory marketplace that placed a cost on consumers before they even entered a restaurant, and made dining inaccessible to those who refused to pay.
by Shoddy_Rub_2954
8 Comments
When’s the effective date? Im assuming 180 days like everything else?
IANAL and I’m a little confused how the legislature expects this to work in practice?
The law defines “reservation services” as websites and internet services that offer or arrange for on-site dining reservations. It’s then illegal for a person to list a reservation on a reservation service without a written agreement from the restaurant. But AIUI, Facebook and Reddit (edit: and Telegram, all of which are mentioned in this and other articles as platforms where reservations are traded and resold) aren’t “reservation services”, but their users are? The law then says there’s a civil penalty (which the DA could prosecute), but also creates a cause of action for individuals to sue reservation scalpers for the price they paid the scalper. Except, like… the scalpers are in Rhode Island and Romania, so, like… you’d have to remove to Federal court… over a $500 reservation fee? And if you did sue the website, you’d need to sue Facebook… which should be protected via Section 230?
I’d love a lawyer to explain how the [text of the law](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S9365/amendment/original) will actually work in the court system! 🙂
Law says it goes effect in 60 days
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.
This is great. Does this essentially shut down Appointment Trader?
I do think restaurants should be able to charge a premium for a guaranteed, last minute table, but that money should go to the restaurant, not a reseller who is gaming the system.
I don’t think so, it still let’s Dorsia and other similar services operate.
Now if someone would create some fucking competition for Resy so everything wasn’t beholden to that garbage.
Glad to see NYC’s most pressing issue solved
Boy I’m glad the governor really has the things that are important for the people of this city at the front of her attention