Arenas Can Reopen In New York Soon: Cuomo

LONG ISLAND, NY — After a Buffalo Bills game attended by 7,000 was used as a model to begin reopening the economy safely, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that arenas can begin to reopen soon.

Beginning Feb. 23, arenas and stadiums can begin to reopen with New York State Department of Health approval, Cuomo said.

Stadiums with more than a 10,000 person capacity can reopen at a limit of 10 percent capacity, the governor said. All those in attendance must have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the event.

In addition, face coverings, social distancing, and temperature checks will be required and mandatory socially distanced seating will be assigned, Cuomo said.

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he said, has been approved to reopen on Feb. 23 for a Brooklyn Nets game against the Sacramento Kings, Cuomo said.

The news was met with excitement by some: "We look forward to welcoming back the best fans in hockey to the Coliseum as soon as possible and to UBS Arena at Belmont Park next season," a statement by the New York Islanders said.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran added: "I'm thrilled that Islanders fans will be able to safely rock the Barn again. Governor Cuomo reopening arenas is a big step towards New York's safe return to normal, and the reopening of the Coliseum means so much for Nassau. We know virus risk is dramatically reduced with precautions in place and rules being followed. I'm confident that we're ready to do this safely and smoothly."

The announcement followed the unveiling of the new NY PopsUp program, which will kick off on Feb. 20, with the first performance taking place at the Javits Center as a tribute to front-line healthcare heroes.

The program, which will feature 300 performances over 100 days statewide, features an A-list slate of artists and could pave the way for the reopening of performance venues in New York, including, eventually, Broadway, which could open with testing and reduced capacity at performances, Cuomo said.

"That's where we are headed," he said. The Buffalo Bills playoff game, with 7,000 people filling the stadium, all of whom were tested and showed no evidence of Covid spread, served as a model for other venues, he said.

"Reopening with testing is going to be key," Cuomo said. The governor also announced last week that wedding receptions could begin again at a capacity of 150 with pre-testing.

Mass vaccination sites for socially vulnerable communities

On Wednesday, Cuomo also announced the opening of two mass vaccination sites in Brooklyn and Queens that will administer 3,000 vaccinations a day for eight weeks to members of the underserved Black, Latino and poor communities, he said.

Cuomo, along with White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients and White House COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Chair Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith said at Cumo's request, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will establish the two community-based mass-vaccination sites at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and York College in Queens.

The sites, targeted at socially vulnerable populations, will serve as a national model for the "equitable distribution" of the vaccine; and, like the state-and-city operated site at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, will be reserved only for those who live in the respective boroughs, Cuomo said.

Looking ahead, New York is working with FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify additional sites outside of New York City, including upstate New York, to launch efforts focused on vaccine equity and vaccinating 1,000 New Yorkers per day.

Cuomo was also joined by Rev. Al Sharpton, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, who co-chairs the New York Vaccine Equity Task Force, and Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP to discuss vaccine hesitancy and ways to mitigate the distrust of government and the vaccine felt by many in those underserved communities.

"COVID created low tide in America, and all the ugliness, structural racism, injustice and disparity lurking beneath the surface was exposed," Cuomo said. "We know that communities of color suffered the most and from day one we've made the fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine a priority. These two new sites are going to make a dramatic impact on some of our hardest-hit communities and further bolster the work we've already been doing on the ground to get shots in arms, and we're so thankful to the Biden administration for their partnership in making it happen."