Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - Long-awaited for guidance for movie theaters in New York State came Saturday as Governor Andrew Cuomo announced theaters outside New York City may open with reduced capacity beginning October 23.
"Beginning October 23 movie theaters outside New York City will be allowed to reopen at 25% capacity," the Governor rattled off quickly toward the end of his prepared remarks Saturday.
Capacity in the theaters needs to be below 25% or up to fifty people per screen. Theaters located in red zone target areas are excluded.
Movie theaters have been closed since the onset of the COVID pandemic and theater operators have filed suit against the state seeking a reversal of its continued closure decision.
"It's step one," said Lynn Kinsella, owner of the Aurora Theatre in East Aurora upon hearing of the reopening guidelines. "I think it's still going to be challenging," adds Kinsella in a WBEN interview Saturday. "It's step one to getting back to business."
The National Association of Theater Owners of New York State is pleased with the reopening guidelines and issued the following statement:
"We are exceptionally pleased that Governor Cuomo has allowed for movie theaters in New York State to begin to reopen. As theaters have demonstrated in 48 states so far, the moviegoing experience can be enjoyed safely with strict guidelines and protocols in place for health and safety under our industry's CinemaSafe plan. As parts of the state reopen theaters starting this Friday, it is our hope that theaters in New York City follow suit shortly thereafter. We look forward to seeing moviegoers return to the big screen here in the Empire State next week."
Cuomo also announced a new 'micro cluster' strategy that will be used to manage the spread of COVID-19 statewide. No longer will the state look at the spread of the virus statewide, regionally or by county but rather my the 'micro cluster' areas where the spread is identified to be problematic.
The statewide positivity rate stands at 1.02 percent according to Cuomo,
