Regional Reopening Today Governor Cuomo released his “NY Forward” guidance document broadly outlining the State’s economic reopening plan. The Governor announced three regions in the State will be eligible for Phase I of the reopening process effective May 15th: the Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, and Finger Lakes have met the key metrics laid out by New York State in conjunction with the Center for Dieses Control reopening guidance.   Highlights of NY Forward guidance:  For each region there will be “Control Rooms” to [...]

Regional Reopening in New York State “New York State on PAUSE” business restrictions and social protocols are set to expire on Friday, May 15.  Governor Cuomo today stated he will discuss regional reopening plans in more detail tomorrow, May 11, and he revealed that there will be regions that are eligible to begin a phased reopening on May 15. Nursing Home Protections The Governor announced additional measures to protect residents and staff in nursing homes: If a nursing home has a [...]

“New York State on PAUSE” NOT Extended to June 6 Following inconsistent messages circulating in the press, the Governor’s Office announced that “New York State on PAUSE” business restrictions and social protocols have NOT been extended to June 6.  The following release was issued a short time ago: For Immediate Release: 5/9/2020GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO STATEMENT FROM SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNOR MELISSA DEROSA ON NY ON PAUSE EXECUTIVE ORDER "NY ON PAUSE was not extended to June 6. "Yesterday's Executive Order [...]

Child Victims Act Extension Governor Cuomo today announced that New York State will extend the window for victims to file cases under the Child Victims Act until January 14, 2021.  The current deadline for filing a case is August 2020, however the Governor stated that COVID-19 has limited survivors’ ability to file claims. Reimagine Education Advisory Council The Governor today announced members of the Reimagine Education Advisory Council.  The Council, chaired by SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras, will be [...]

Legislative Hearing Scheduled The State Senate and Assembly announced today a joint public hearing that will focus on the federal response to the COVID crisis, including but not limited to, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, and whether the federal assistance provided was adequate and accessible for small businesses across the State. Thea hearing will be virtual and has been scheduled for May 13th at 10am. Nourish New York [...]

Reimagining New York Governor Cuomo today continued to push the COVID-19 response as an opportunity to create public/private partnerships to improve the State’s transportation, public safety, housing, economic, education and healthcare systems. He announced that Michael Dowling, CEO of Northwell Health will work with the Department of Health to coordinate with hospitals across the state a seamless healthcare response to future public health emergencies. Further, the Governor announced that Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google will lead a 15-member advisory [...]

Re-Imagine Education Governor Cuomo today announced that New York State will partner with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other experts to create a blueprint that redesigns education in the months and years ahead.  Among other tasks, this partnership will explore how technology can be used to enhance educational opportunities and minimize longstanding socioeconomic inequities in learning. Federal Assistance The Governor spent a large portion of his daily press conference lobbying for federal assistance to State and local governments and [...]

Regional Re-Opening in Four Phases At a press conference near Rochester, NY, Governor Cuomo announced some further details on the state’s business re-opening plan. The region-by-region approach will consist of four phases to re-opening New York State: PHASE I: Construction/Manufacturing/some Retailers with curbside pick-up PHASE II: Professional Services, Finance/Insurance, Real Estate, Administrative Support PHASE III: Restaurants/Food service and Hotels/Accommodations PHASE IV: Arts/Entertainment/Recreation and Education As part of this process the State will monitor four “core factors” to determine if a region can [...]

Regional State Purchasing Consortium Governor Cuomo today announced the formation of a seven-state Regional State Purchasing Consortium to increase market power and bring down prices.  This partnership, which includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, will jointly procure PPE (personal protective equipment), tests, ventilators, and other medical equipment.  Additionally, the Consortium will seek to identify and avoid irresponsible vendors, identify American suppliers of required equipment, and develop new in-State and regional suppliers to minimize supply chain risk and [...]

Public Health Initiatives to Combat COVID-19 Governor Cuomo today highlighted several public health initiatives to combat COVID-19 and its impact on New Yorkers: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will begin disinfecting all of its trains every 24 hours.  To accomplish this, the entire system will close to riders every night from 1:00AM to 5:00AM beginning Wednesday, May 6.To develop a better understanding of where infections are originating, New York State has begun asking hospitals to collect more specific demographic information from [...]