Good morning,
Tuesday evening, Governor Andrew Cuomo posted his fifty-fourth Executive Order during this state of emergency. Executive Order 202.53, issued on July 21, 2020, continues the suspensions and modifications of law, and any directives, not superseded by a subsequent directive, made by Executive Order 202.22 through 202.26, and including 202.32, (except for the provision authorizing the extension of payment of sales and use taxes without penalty by the Commissioner of Tax and Finance), 202.33, 202.34 and 202.35 as contained in Executive Order 202.44 and Executive Order 202.45 for another thirty days through August 20, 2020. In addition, Executive Order 202.53 sets forth certain directives, all of which are designed to address matters related to the COVID-19 crisis. Executive Order 202.53 is effective from July 21, 2020 through August 20, 2020. A copy of Executive Order 202.53 can be found here.
NEW DIRECTIVES
Sorry NYC – You may be in Phase Four, but your malls and museums are not!
- Executive Order 202.50 had previously authorized the reopening of the indoor portions of malls in those areas of New York State that have entered the Phase Four reopening. At that time, New York City had not entered Phase Four. Pursuant to Executive Order 202.53, the directive contained in Executive Order 202.45, which extended the provisions of those Executive Orders which each closed or otherwise restricted public or private businesses or places of public accommodation, and allowed regions to enter Phase Four of the State’s reopening so long as the prescribed public health and safety metrics set by the Department of Health have been met, is continued until and unless later amended or extended by a future Executive Order and provides that as of July 20, 2020, the New York City region has met the prescribed public health and safety metrics required for Phase Four industries to reopen.
- Executive Order 202.53, however, imposes a caveat on the Phase Four reopening of New York City by providing that indoor common portions of retail shopping malls and places of low-risk indoor arts and entertainment continue to be closed in such region. In fact, Executive Order 202.53 specifically amends the directive contained in Executive Order 202.50, that allowed indoor common portions of retail shopping malls to open in regions that have met the public health and safety metrics to enter Phase Four of the State’s reopening, to provide that indoor common portions of shopping malls continue to be closed in the New York City region. As such, your visit to the MOMA or the Staten Island Mall will have to be delayed a little longer.