Mid-Hudson Region Enters Phase 4 Reopening, But Gyms, Malls And Movie Theaters Still Left Off List
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- New York's Mid-Hudson region entered Phase 4 reopening Tuesday, which includes low-risk indoor and outdoor activities, like museums and zoos.
As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported, some key activities were left off the list.
Phase 4 was supposed to include movie theaters, malls and gyms, but that isn't the case.
Duddridge spoke with the owner of a UFC training gym in Mamaroneck that still can't open, so he's offering classes outside to make ends meet.
He installed dividers between treadmills and spaced punching bags eight feet apart, but he said he feels like the one who got punched in the gut.
"The rug got pulled from underneath us. Basically, I've been renovating for the past three months as we've been closed. Painting, flooring, all the COVID stuff that we needed to do, cleaning stations," said owner Dean Bellantoni. "Then all of a sudden, it was, 'all right guys, you're not opening up.'"
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo will decide the fate of gyms, malls and movie theaters, but hasn't set a date.
Meanwhile, the rest of Phase 4 is moving ahead in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
Indoor arts and entertainment, like museums and aquariums, can open at 25% capacity, and low-risk outdoor arts and entertainment, like zoos and botanical gardens, can open at 33%.
"Right now, we're gearing up to do a few sessions of summer camp. In that one week there will only be 10 kids, period. There would've been 25 or 30 last year, with multiple sessions running," Sandbox Theatre owner Daniel Ferrante said.
"I would love to go to the aquarium or the zoo," Mamaroneck resident April Barber said. "Just things that help us feel normal."
"Botanical garden -- we do go. So it's nice, we're allowed to go, that's really great," resident Maria Papadopoulos added.
Film and movie productions can also get rolling, as well as higher education, like colleges and universities.
Indoor religious gatherings were already operating at 25% capacity. Now, that numbers bumps up to 33%.
"It's hard because they only allow 25 people, where I go, in the church," said resident Gregory Anderson. "It's getting better. That's good, that's good. It's getting better."
Social gatherings of up to 50 people are also allowed.
That has Bellatoni and other gym owners asking why they can't have a couple people inside.
"I, personally, think we're essential, because we get people health," he said.
He's joining hundreds of gyms statewide filing a class action lawsuit asking the state to give them a fair chance.
Health experts say they're concerned grunting and breathing heavily spew the virus droplets farther.
