Tis the Season

Despite the spike in Covid-19 infection rates and brisk temperatures, I cannot help but notice the number of locals who are genuinely looking forward to the holidays. We are, too!

The Putnam County Business Council (PCBC) is starting to celebrate early this year. We recently announced our second campaign wave to help our local business owners through the holidays and beyond. Kicking off this week as part of our support of Small Business Saturday, our pre-holiday campaign is focused on promoting Putnam-based retail shops throughout the holiday season.

This year, I’m excited to be joined by PCBC board members, Economic Development Task Force and County Executive MaryEllen Odell on our annual cross-county holiday tour of local retailers. Starting a week in advance of Small Business Saturday, the tour will include videotaped interviews with shop owners and patrons, which will be used as a promotional campaign to keep the community thinking and shopping locally throughout the winter season.

We have been running our Small Business Saturday tours for the past seven years. And this year, we want to bolster this great event by putting our visits to greater use. By capturing and showcasing the unique local treasures that shoppers can find right here in Putnam, we hope to drive momentum and retail foot traffic past the holidays.

The County Executive continues to stress how important it is to shop locally — especially now. “With folks staying home or at least close to home for the holidays, there may be a silver lining for local retailers this year,” says County Executive Odell. “Before you press the Amazon Buy button, consider helping your business neighbors first. The more we spend at home, the quicker our economy will recover.”

In order to drive shoppers to Shop Small® beyond the holidays and into the winter season, the PCBC and its sponsors are investing in local advertising and digital marketing to spotlight Putnam small businesses and promote the impact they have on the community.

Merchants who would like to be part of the PCBC’s Pre-Holiday Retail Promotion should email info@putnamcountybusinesscouncil.com for details. Businesses who are interested in sponsoring membership for a favorite retail establishment are also encouraged to contact the Business Council.

After Canadian Thanksgiving, on October 12, Canada saw a major spike in COVID cases. It is our deep concern that the same thing will happen here. For that reason, I have continued to raise the alarm about the risk of COVID spreading in smaller indoor settings — so-called “living room spread” — including at holiday dinners.

We all wish the pandemic was over and we didn’t have to worry about it this holiday season. Sadly and very clearly that’s not the reality — on the contrary, COVID is getting worse. So I am asking all New Yorkers again: Be smart and help us avoid a Thanksgiving spike. That means having Thanksgiving with your immediate household only, not attending Thanksgiving dinners with over ten people, and taking all the recommended health precautions. The best way to show your thanks and love this year is to stay apart. A small Thanksgiving dinner, or one over Zoom, is no less meaningful a way to reflect on our blessings and mark a great American tradition.

Excluding these areas, it was 3.10 percent. Of the 154,434 tests reported yesterday, 5,294, or 3.43 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations rose to 2,202. Sadly, we lost 35 New Yorkers to the virus.

Part of Erie County’s Yellow Zone will transition to an Orange Zone. Parts of Niagara County and the Bronx will go into Yellow Zones. There will be an expanded Yellow Zone in Queens. Meanwhile, due to improvements, the Yellow Zones in Broome County and Orange County will be removed, and the Brooklyn cluster’s Orange Zone will transition to a Yellow Zone. These changes go into effect Friday for businesses and Monday for schools.

Contact tracers are working around the clock to trace clusters and inform people who have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID. How can you help? Simply by picking up the phone. If your caller ID says “NYS Contact Tracing,” pick up and help New York stop the spread. (Tracers will never ask for your Social Security Number or financial information; if someone does, they are not an official tracer and you should hang up.)

Today, I was joined by the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts in recommending that residential colleges in our respective states provide testing prior to sending students home for Thanksgiving. Read more about the regional coalition’s announcement here.