§ 472. Definitions. For the purposes of this article: 1. "Average full-time employment" shall mean the average number of full-time equivalent positions employed by a business entity in an eligible industry during a given period. 2. "Average starting full-time employment" shall be calculated as the average number of full-time equivalent positions employed by a business entity in an eligible industry between January first, two thousand twenty-one, and March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one. 3. "Average ending full-time employment" shall be calculated as the average number of full-time equivalent positions employed by a business entity in an eligible industry between April first, two thousand twenty-one, and either August thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one, or December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one, whichever date the business entity chooses to use. 4. "Certificate of tax credit" means the document issued to a business entity by the department after the department has verified that the business entity has met all applicable eligibility criteria in this article. The certificate shall specify the exact amount of the tax credit under this article that a business entity may claim, pursuant to section four hundred seventy-five of this article. 5. "Commissioner" shall mean commissioner of the department of economic development. 6. "Department" shall mean the department of economic development. 7. "Eligible industry" means a business entity operating predominantly in the COVID-19 impacted food services sector. 8. "Net employee increase" means an increase of at least one full-time equivalent employee between the average starting full-time employment and the average ending full-time employment of a business entity. 9. "COVID-19 impacted food services sector" means:

(a) independently owned establishments that are located inside the city of New York and have been subjected to a ban on indoor dining for over six months and are primarily organized to prepare and provide meals, and/or beverages to customers for consumption, including for immediate indoor on-premises consumption, as further defined in regulations pursuant to this article; and

(b) independently owned establishments that are located outside of the city of New York in an area which has been and/or remains designated by the department of health as either an orange zone or red zone pursuant to Executive Order 202.68 as amended, and for which such designation was or has been in effect and resulted in additional restrictions on indoor dining for at least thirty consecutive days, and are primarily organized to prepare and provide meals, and/or beverages to customers for consumption, including for immediate indoor on-premises consumption, as further defined in regulations pursuant to this article.