Good afternoon,
Governor Cuomo may be ending his regular daily briefings, but does not necessarily correspond to a reduction of regularly issued Executive Orders. Friday afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo posted his forty-fourth Executive Order related to the COVID-19 state of emergency. Executive Order 202.43, issued on June 18, 2020, modifies or suspends certain New York statutes, laws, codes, rules and regulations, as well as sets forth certain directives, all of which are designed to combat the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, Executive Order 202.43 obligates restaurant and bar owners to enforce social distancing guidelines, addresses certain matters to help domestic violence victims and extends the time for certain New York residents to pay property taxes. Executive Order 202.43 is effective from June 18, 2020 through July 18, 2020 and can be found here.
NEW DIRECTIVES
If you are going to drink or eat outdoors, you better be socially distancing or else!
- Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo expressed consternation that persons purchasing alcohol and food from restaurants and bars for outdoor consumption were not observing social distancing rules when gathering outside of such establishments. As a result, Executive Order 202.43 would require the owners of such establishments to do a better job policing those areas immediately outside of their businesses.
- To that end, Executive Order 202.43 provides that in service of the policy goal of preventing the unnecessary congregation of people to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, for businesses engaging in the sale/service of alcoholic beverages (i.e, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, liquor stores, and other entities licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at retail), whether such sale/service is for (i) off-premises consumption pursuant to regular licensed privileges; (ii) off-premises consumption through take-out or delivery service authorized under Executive Order 202.3, as extended, or (iii) on-premises consumption, including under the expansion procedures for outdoor service under Executive Order 202.38, in addition to such businesses’ supervisory obligations under existing laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations, all such businesses shall be further required to inspect, monitor, and otherwise supervise the area within 100 feet of the licensed premises to ensure that any consumption of food or beverage comports with the applicable open container ordinances, and the social distancing and face covering requirements set forth for such business or service in any applicable Executive Order, regulation, ordinance, law, Department of Health guidance, and/or State Liquor Authority guidance.
- If unable to comply, the serving business must discontinue such sale/service of alcoholic beverages unless and until such Executive Orders, regulations, law, ordinances, Department of Health guidance, and State Liquor Authority guidance can be fully observed.
DMV Offices reopens for visitors in Phase 3 areas
- Executive Order 202.8 had previously closed all Department of Motor Vehicle Offices to in-person visits and limited transactions to on-line only. Pursuant to Executive Order 202.43, this directive is modified to allow for in-person transactions at county-operated Department of Motor Vehicles offices if such transactions are conducted by appointment only, and only in regions that have met the prescribed public health and safety metrics required for Phase Three reopening.
- As of June 19, 2020 the regions meeting the prescribed public health and safety metrics required for Phase Three reopening are: Finger Lakes, Central New York, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, the North Country, Western New York and the Capitol Region.
SUPENDED OR MODIFIED LAWS, REGULATIONS AND CODES
As with all prior executive orders, Executive Order 202.43 also suspends or modifies certain laws, codes, rules and regulations to aid in New York’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis this time through July 18, 2020. Executive Order 202.43, by modifying or suspending the applicable laws, codes, rules and regulations, to the extent necessary:
- Allows the Nassau County Executive to extend until July 1, 2020, the deadline to pay without interest or penalty the final one-half of school taxes upon real estate in such county and to require payments made after such date to be subject to interest and penalties beginning on July 1, 2020;
- Provides that an award for relocation expenses also shall include reasonable, temporary lodging expenses, such as motel or hotel, for victims of a crime or crimes related to domestic violence, subject to the fiscal limitation in subdivision 2 of section 631 of the Executive Law;
- Provides that any certified residential program for victims of domestic violence as defined in section 459-a of the Social Services Law that had provided services to a victim of a crime or crimes related to domestic violence shall be considered a “criminal justice agency” for the purposes of the subdivision;
- Provides that for the purposes of implementing Executive Order 202.43, the Office of Victim Services shall determine claims submitted by a victim of a crime or crimes related to domestic violence, subject to the following conditions
- If there is a physical injury, the claimant submits medical records of the injury and a statement from any certified residential program for victims of domestic violence as defined in section 459-a of the Social Services Law that such injuries were the result of a crime; and
- In the event that there is no physical injury, the certified residential program for victims of domestic violence as defined in section 459-a of the Social Services Law after consultation with police or district attorney’s office, determines such actions include one or more of the enumerated charges under subdivisions 11 or 12 of section 631 of the Executive Law and specifies such crime or crimes in the application or information submitted to the office.
In addition to this suspension and/or modification of laws and regulations, Executive Order 202.43 also extends by twenty-one (21) days the period for paying, without interest or penalty, property taxes that are due in the following New York localities:
| Village of Alfred, Allegany County;
Village of Cambridge, Washington County; Village of Greenwood Lake, Orange County; Village of Honeoye Falls, Monroe County; Village of Lake George, Warren County; Village of Manorhaven, Nassau County; Village of New Square, Rockland County; |
Village of Old, Field Suffolk County;
Village of Palmyra, Wayne County; Village of Piermont, Rockland County; Village of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County; Village of South Nyack, Rockland County; and Village of Tupper Lake, Franklin County |