Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - On the heels of a New York State Supreme Court decision Wednesday that allowed for an Orchard Park gym to reopen at 100% capacity, other area gym operators are hoping the decision will break the dam and lead to further occupancy increases at their facilities come January.
Robby Dinero's gym, Athletes Unleashed, has been granted permission to reopen after a suit was heard in court Wednesday and attorney Paul Cambria argued that the basis by which the state has ordered restrictions on gyms is 'arbitrary and capricious'. The court decision impacts only Dinero's gym.
Gyms across the state have been operating at 25% capacity for the past few weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed them to reopen after reviewing COVID infection rates.
Amy Bueme operates Catalyst Fitness locally and is looking at the Athletes Unleashed decision as progress. "I am so pleased."
Bueme tells WBEN she will wait a couple weeks to see how the state reponds in early January and is hoping they begin to increase allowable occupancy rates at gyms as a result. "There is absolutely no reasoning why our occupancy should not be able to go up."
In order to reopen, says Bueme, gyms have enforced strict masking and social distancing and also installed required air filtration systems mandated by the state. "There's no data, there's nothing to justify what they're putting on us," she says and claims the state is randomly implementing unfair occupancy restrictions.
While Bueme and others may give the state some time to react to the ramifications of the court decision, she says she is not ruling out the need for further legal action against the state. "If they do not make these adjustments come January, there's going to be a lot of lawsuits and issues that are going to be brought up again."
Bueme is particularly concerned about the timing of the occupancy restrictions as January is a time when many turn to gyms for both physical and mental improvements to their lives. The added stress of the COVID pandemic is an additional force that she says is driving people to turn to gyms as a place for relief.
"We all have to stand together," says Bueme, and she'll be waiting to see what happens.
