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Upstate NY Is Reopening (Kind Of): Here’s What That Means
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published May 15, 2020
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Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuom
By
Gwynne Hogan
Published May 15, 2020
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New York State’s PAUSE order, halting all non-essential businesses, has ended across five upstate regions Friday, while the declaration governing New York City and downstate counties was extended until May 28 at midnight.
But even though some of the state will begin to reopen Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo has cautioned it’s likely to be a long, drawn-out process that could be walked back at any moment if COVID-19 infections creep back upwards.
“Phased reopening does not mean the problem has gone away,” Cuomo said at his daily press briefing Thursday. “It means we have controlled the problem because of what we did and because of our individual responsibility and individual actions, and that has to be maintained.”
What criteria do the state’s ten different regions need to meet in order to begin a phased reopening?
To start the path towards reopening, regions must see:
- A 14-day decline in hospitalization and deaths, and at hospital capacity.
- 30 percent of intensive care beds and regular hospital beds available.
- The capacity to test 30 people for every 1,000 residents a week.
Finally, the area has to have an adequate number of contact tracers for its population. You can see how each region is doing here.
So how is New York City faring according to the state’s indicators?
It’s not there yet. The city has met four of seven of the state’s indicators, but still has too many new hospitalizations per capita and not enough available hospital and intensive care beds. (Every day we post a chart here with an updated rundown of the city’s progress in meeting state reopening requirements.)
Most of upstate New York—including the Finger Lakes, Central New York, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier and the North Country—is now beginning “Phase 1” of reopening. What does that even mean?
Phase 1 allows non-essential construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and retail (if they have curbside pickup) to reopen, which is the biggest change for most upstate residents. Some businesses that would fall into these categories were already considered essential—like hardware stores or pharmacies—and thus would have been open the whole time, but others like General Motors were shuttered and are gearing up to reopen Monday.
Florists, shoe and clothing stores, sporting goods and other retailers are included in this phase for delivery, in-store and curbside pickup.
Do businesses have to do anything special to open?
Any business that reopens and all essential businesses that have remained open are supposed to come up with safety plans and keep them on site for health inspectors to review. That plan must explain how the business will conduct health checks on all employees daily, allow them to social distance in the workplace and provide them with personal protective gear.
If businesses don't provide adequate protective gear or guarantee worker and client safety in other ways, they should not reopen.
Okay, what happens after Phase 1? Am I going to dinner and a movie anytime soon?
Nope. Phase 2 includes professional services, retail administrative support and real estate. There’s no official list of what’s included in these categories.
Phase 3 covers restaurants and food services (like bars).
Phase 4 encompasses arts, entertainment, recreation (i.e. your bowling alleys and axe-throwing parlors), and schools. The state still hasn’t given any details yet on when regions can move from one phase to the next, and Cuomo has warned than any spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations or infections could lead to tightened restrictions on businesses again.
Doesn’t New York City get to decide when New York City reopens?
Good question. New York City is keeping its own separate public health metrics, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that he won’t consider reopening any non-essential businesses until at least June. It’s a little unclear who has the final say.
The Mayor and the Governor have a notoriously crummy working relationship. They bickered over how to shut the state down, and they’ve already clashed on how to reopen.
For instance, Cuomo said on Monday certain low-risk outdoor businesses like tennis, landscaping, and drive-in theaters could open statewide, but didn’t provide any details. City officials were caught off-guard, and said they were waiting to see the governor’s written executive order, which was finally published Thursday night.
The executive order explicitly allowed drive-ins movies to reopen. But there’s still no official guidance on tennis, or other outdoor recreation that might be included.
Wait, a drive-in? Is that even a thing in New York City?
A diner in Queens has converted its parking lot to a drive-in and has already shown Grease and Dirty Dancing, with a screening of The Sandlot planned Saturday. But if you don’t have a car, don’t even try watching from the sidewalk, the owner’s son says they’re shooing people away.
What about parks and beaches?
Ah yes, speaking of that bad blood between de Blasio and Cuomo. Mayor de Blasio said repeatedly on Friday that city beaches would not open on Memorial Day weekend, and that the city would increase patrols at the Rockaways, Coney Island and Orchard Beach. (The city is also limiting how many people can enter busy crowded Hudson River Parks and Dominio Parks, as well as Sheep Meadow in Central Park)
Shortly after de Blasio’s announcement Friday, Cuomo said state beaches would reopen on May 22, while mandating 50 percent capacity and limiting parking, enforcing social distancing and prohibiting contact activities like volleyball.
Jones Beach is the nearest state operated beach and it’s unclear how Jacob Riis, which is a national park, would be impacted.
Even after Cuomo’s comment’s de Blasio’s office reiterated city beaches wouldn’t open but that they’re working on a plan to reopen the beaches if it becomes safe.
On Thursday, New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order to allow beaches and boardwalks to open on May 22 with plans with social distancing enforcement and sanitization measures.
Connecticut, which avoided a major COVID-19 outbreak has outlayed a more broad reopening starting May 20, where restaurants can reopen for outdoor dining, outdoor recreation, personal services like hair salons and outdoor museums and zoos.
Tagged
PAUSE
COVID-19
bill de blasio
andrew cuomo
Gwynne Hogan
Gwynne Hogan is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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