Statement from Senator Patty Ritchie

Small businesses set to reopen in Phase Two have spent endless hours in recent weeks readying to safely reopen. Up until tonight, they believed they’d be able to do so on Friday.

Now though, at the 11th hour, the Governor has chosen to impose new reopening criteria that will prevent Central and Northern New York from moving on to Phase Two. This lack of communication isn’t just irresponsible—it’s disrespectful to hardworking business owners and the tremendous effort they have put forth to comply with state guidelines.

These people have been through enough. So many of the businesses they have worked hard to build are hanging on by a thread. Many of these business owners and their employees have yet to see a dime of unemployment benefits from the New York State Department of Labor. To say they are frustrated would be an understatement.

Our region has met the metrics to move on to the next phase. Businesses have worked tirelessly to implement safety measures to safely reopen tomorrow. To tell them tonight we aren’t moving on to Phase Two—just hours before they expected to reopen—is indefensible. Businesses cannot wait any longer and I support efforts for them to safely move on to the next phase, as promised. Furthermore, this underscores the need for the Legislature to take immediate action to restore its powers as a co-equal branch of state government