"I have high faith, truthfully," Poloncarz said. "…I think what we're doing, it's a work in progress. We are learning as we go along and learning what needs to be done."
One example of a lack of clarity from the state government came on June 11. During an interview on WBEN, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said that the return of pools and playgrounds would be "more of a later phase", suggesting that those two activities would come at phase four next week.
Within hours of that interview, Governor Cuomo announced that pools and playgrounds can reopen at the discretion of the local governments.
More disappointment came this week as New York State unveiled its guidance for phase four industries. Initially, it was believed that all entertainment and recreational activities could reopen, albeit with restrictions on capacity. Instead, the state is only allowing cultural institutions like museums, historical sites, aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, and other low-risk activities to reopen at limited capacity.
Other industries like gyms, movie theaters, and malls continue to wait for reopening guidelines, though no dates has been announced.
"I'm not surprised to see that they have not officially allowed yet in phase four like large downtown concerts or gyms," Poloncarz said. "We think they're going to be releasing guidance in regards to gyms very soon. It's going to be in phase four, so to speak, but it just didn't start on phase one."
Professional sports could be returning to New York State soon. Major League Baseball can begin spring training on July 1, though Poloncarz questioned if there would be fans in the stands.
"The number one responsibility of government, whether it's my office or the department of health, is to protect the health and welfare of our citizens," Poloncarz said. "Nobody wants to shut down businesses."
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said new information is coming out every day on the virus which dictates their decision-making.
