A Pre-Holiday Rally for Restaurants & Retail | Open Letter – Villa Barone Hilltop Manor | News & Updates

With COVID-19 restrictions beginning to ease, restaurants, shops, and attractions throughout Putnam County have pulled out all the stops to make residents and guests feel safe and secure as they once again venture into the community. The Putnam County Business Council is grateful to the area businesses and non profits who  are supporting the fight against COVID-19 by safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all who live, work and play in our beautiful region.

All businesses are required to follow CDC and N.Y. State Department of Health guidelines, including:

Putnam’s economic recovery will depend on our ability to draw people back to the businesses that make our county so vibrant and appealing. These businesses need our help. They need our cooperation and support. All the responsibility does not lie with the business owners. We all need to comply in hopes of avoiding another shut down. Many businesses will not survive that.

We have an idea! Before the holiday season, we want to launch a promotional video campaign to showcase  Putnam Restaurants, followed by Retail Shops. The community needs to see how our businesses have adapted and invested to make their businesses safe and convenient. The video will be promoted via social media ads and showcased on our website and via email blast. It will also be referenced here, in our weekly Business Column, and shared by our tourism, economic development and chambers of commerce partners.

Since our organization does not have the resources to finance this campaign on its own, we have come up with a win-win solution. When you become a member of our leadership team at the Executive Level or above ($295 or more), you will automatically earn a spot in the video and, depending on the level you choose, you will be included as a registered participant in the Putnam County Business Council’s first ever Restaurant Week in 2021 ($500 value).

This offer is valid through October 15th, 2020. In addition to membership, those interested in sponsoring either or both events, should get in touch with us as soon as possible.

We look forward to connecting with you to discuss this opportunity and how we can help to get you back in the black!

Open letter to New York State and Governor Cuomo I have had it. My husband is always bothered by my “rainbows and unicorns” attitude. It’s an innate quality of mine to look for the smallest bit of positivity and the bigger picture in every situation. But even I have reached my limit.

My family owns a large catering venue in NY, and we, along with the rest of the hospitality industry, large event venues, and arts and theater sectors are still being majorly affected by New York States policies regarding COVID 19. The lack of answers, transparency, and total disregard for an entire sector that is beyond suffering is so disappointing. We are shut down, with no foreseeable opening in sight and no plausible answers or solutions to how we can progress forward.

Back in March, 2 weeks to stop the spread has come and gone. The 4 phases of NY Forward have long been implemented and some of us, 8 months later are still left hanging, doors locked, businesses closed, facilities laying dormant.

This does not by any means negate the tremendous loss of the beautiful lives of those who have succumbed to this virus. My heart breaks for the families who have lost loved ones and for all those who have suffered.

But life must go on with an inherent need to regroup and rebuild what we have so painstakingly created. You have left an entire sector of New York to drown, with no answers, no plan of action, with nothing.

Give us guidelines and policies to adhere to. Raise the gathering number with rules and regulations on how to proceed forward in this new normal. Let us start to rebuild and swim ourselves to the top again.

My family’s business has been established for over 40 years. We are fortunate enough to survive this, honestly starting from the bottom, but we’re still here. However, a lot of businesses have not, basically locking the doors for the final time and turning over the keys to establishments that started as a dream and with hard work and sacrifices, came to life.

We’re not asking for sympathy. No one is looking for a hand out. What we want is to be able to start our lives again and get out of this stagnant space. What we deserve is the same confidence and respect that other sections of New York have been given. Because while the other sectors around us are fighting tooth and nail for their businesses and rebuilding their livelihoods, we are not even allowed to join the war, instead having to sit back with our arms tied, watching EVERYTHING we have worked so hard for slowly die.

New York has long prided ourselves for the arts and cultures we possess, for the beautiful souls that live here, for the experiences to be had, all while representing freedom and possibilities. I’ve always loved NY, it’s in my heart, in my soul, but today, I’d rather live anywhere else but here. The blatant refusal to allow some sectors to survive is disheartening and frankly disgusting. The “heart” of New York and all of the joy and life it represents is being snuffed out.

Bottom line- give us a chance to survive, to rebuild, to provide for our families, and to bring a little happiness back to New York.

Sincerely,

Yesterday 145,000 tests were reported to the state — a record high number. We’re focusing our testing efforts in two areas — statewide and then we are doing additional testing in hot spot ZIP codes. The positivity rate in the hot spot ZIP codes is 5.8 percent, while the statewide positivity rate, excluding these ZIPs, is 1.01 percent. Our robust testing efforts allow us to narrow hot spot areas down to the range of a block. As part of our Cluster Action Initiative, there are new restrictions in six clusters in the State, which allows us to stop the spread from these clusters and protect our progress in the fight against COVID-19.

Look up your address using the button below to see if you live in a COVID-19 Hot Spot Zone and take precautions as always.

Gov. Cuomo is encouraging all New Yorkers to register to vote for this year’s upcoming election. You must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the State and the county, city or village in which you are registering for at least 30 days before the election; and be at least 18 years old on or by November 3.

Learn how you can register to vote HERE

Check to make sure you are registered HERE.