BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Though most of the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been removed, there are still some remaining that are affecting businesses.
One business owner said he's walking on eggshells over the restrictions that are still in place.
"The problem we have now is the large gathering and large functions, the groups over 250 people," Bill Casale, General Manager of Pearl Street Grill and Brewery and Buffalo Riverworks, said. "They still expect facilities to somehow facilitate at the entrance policing people who are vaccinated or not. They're not even mentioning tests anymore. Now they're saying you have to be vaccinated or you can't have 250 people at your event."
Patrons who enter venues can verify their status by showing their vaccination cards or through New York State's Excelsior Pass.
While some spaces, like large sports venues, have the resources to quickly accommodate the mandate, it is more difficult for smaller venues. Some of the concern is verifying the correct person is showing their card, the added time it takes to verify vaccination status, and the recurring worry business owners have over whether or not they can legally ask patrons for their vaccination status.
"These last-minute decisions are hurting us as well," Casale said. "We have to try and understand what's going on so we can filter it down to our guests and employees. We're a large-scale employer and have over 350 people working for us –typically this time of year we have over 600-. We're trying to work our way through these mandates and figure out what we're supposed to do as a facility. (New York State) does not coordinate properly with the (local) health department because the health department is still uncertain, too."
Casale is still getting clarification from the health department, even as recently as last week, over whether or not customers are allowed to walk around with drinks.
He's worried he will be penalized for breaking a rule he may not be aware of, especially if there are thousands of people in the venue.
"We're at the mercy of our customers following the rules," he said. "We posted signs on the door that say simply 'If you are vaccinated, you do not need to wear a mask. If you are not vaccinated, we request that you respect the guidelines and wear a mask while you're walking around.'"
More than half of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The vaccines have been widely available to obtain for weeks. Because of that, Casale said it's time to lift the restrictions.
"Let us live our lives," he said. "Let us have weddings again without restrictions. Let us have concerns without restrictions. Let's get back to the big events because that's what we need. We need the festivals.
We need the concerns. Weddings aren't booked with 2 months notice. Weddings are booked with 9 months notice. Everything we're doing today would have been facilitated 12 months ago. We've lost this whole summer already."
Casale also shares his thoughts about the ongoing issue with unemployment in the state. You can listen to his full interview below:
New York is following the CDC guidelines when it comes to masking in public and businesses requiring masks. States like Texas and Florida have banned businesses from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine passport.
"The CDC guidelines said that businesses should be able to determine what's best for them," Assemblyman Sean Ryan said. "You'll see businesses will make various choices and we need to leave it to them to make those choices."
Assemblyman Jonathan Rivera said New York should not take cues from those states.
"To prohibit people from wearing masks is counter-intuitive to everything we have been doing for these last few months," Rivera said. "People continue to be vaccinated and continue to be cautious. We're going to see the end of this sooner than we think."
