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 [...]

Schools and Colleges Statewide Closed for Remainder of Academic Year Governor Cuomo announced today that K-12 schools and colleges statewide will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year.  In the meantime, schools will be required to maintain their distance learning initiatives, meal programs will continue, and child care services for essential employees also will continue.  A decision on summer school programming will be made by the end of May.  The Governor has not set a timetable for deciding whether [...]

Certain Counties to Resume Elective Surgeries Today Governor Cuomo named the 35 counties in New York State that are currently eligible under the existing guidelines to resume elective outpatient treatments and surgeries. The full list is below: AlleganyBroomeCattaraugusChautauquaChenangoDelawareDutchessEssexFranklinFultonGeneseeHerkimerJeffersonLewisLivingstonMadisonMonroeNiagaraOneidaOnondagaOntarioOrleansOswegoPutnamSaratogaSchoharieSchuylerSt. LawrenceSteubenSullivanTompkinsUlsterWayneWyomingYates  Attractive Nuisance The Governor today indicated that the upcoming New York State Fair and the Saratoga Race Track season may not happen this summer as they typically would. The Governor stated that the only way he could foresee them being able to [...]

Reopening New York State Governor Cuomo reiterated the factors that will guide New York State’s reopening, which will occur regionally and in phases: Follow CDC guidelines: there must be a 14-day decline in infection/hospitalization ratesIndustry AssessmentsPhase 1: Construction/Manufacturing – which projects can be accomplished safely?Phase 2: Identify additional businesses for reopening (prioritizing lower risk services) and prohibit regional “attractive nuisances” – any attractions or openings that could draw a large number of visitors from outside local areas (citing an example, the [...]

Reopening New York State Today Governor Cuomo re-iterated that NYS on PAUSE will remain in effect until May 15th  and will most likely be extended in various regions around the State that are continuing to experience high infection rates. The planned stay at home order will continue while the State evaluates re-opening the economy regionally. He stated you can make the case to un-pause certain regions but the approach needs to be smart.  There are ten factors the Governor outlined that [...]

Executive Order 202.24 The Governor last night issued Executive Order 202.24, authorizing licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests, subject to completion of appropriate training developed by the NYS Department of Health. As discussed yesterday, the Order expands testing capacity in New York State by allowing independent pharmacies to conduct coronavirus tests. Additionally, this Order cancels a special election for the office of City Council in the 37th district and stipulates that this seat will be filled at the November [...]

Executive Order 202.23 Governor Cuomo last night issued Executive Order 202.23, guaranteeing that every New Yorker automatically receives a postage-paid application to receive an absentee ballot for the June 23rd primary elections and any previously rescheduled election.  This Order also cancelled the June 23rd State Assembly, State Senate, and Queens Borough President special elections; these seats will be filled at the November general election.  (NOTE: the June 23rd special elections are separate from the June 23rd State Assembly and Senate primaries, [...]