Amsterdam Billiards, along with 15 other New York pool halls, had sued the state to reopen ... and this past week, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that the pool halls that had sued the state to reopen can do that — as long as COVID-19 safety protocols are in place, as PIX 11 reported.
Per PIX 11:
Among the many COVID-19 safety protocols for pool halls: They must operate at only 50 percent capacity, masks at all times, six foot social distance markers, no food or alcohol, deep cleaning as well as temperature checks, contact tracing and hand sanitizing stations.While bowling alleys were allowed to reopen this past summer in the city, pool halls were left off the list.
The judge’s decision will stand while the larger lawsuit is litigated.
Photo last night by Steven
How did pool halls get lucky enough to be included with the rest of the state but bars and restaurants did not?
ReplyDeleteThe State is killing us.
ReplyDeleteGreat, so that means I'll be able go in and shoot some rounds of pool, then go find a nice warm restaurant and sit down to eat a delicious meal and...wait, what?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, what is wrong with this picture?
To the people complaining about bars and restaurants not being open, the problem with them is that you have to take your mask OFF to enjoy them and it's prolonged exposure indoors with masks off that spreads the disease most easily. It's unfortunate for that industry, but it's a way to protect people. You can play pool and keep a mask on. You can't keep a mask on while you eat dinner or have a drink.
ReplyDeleteWow. Check this off my list of businesses to patronize once this is all over. There is no way this is safe, especially with a more transmissible strain making its way around the world. This is awful for the employees who will lose their unemployment benefits because this place reopened.
ReplyDeleteThank you 10:12 for some sanity. Why pool halls were on the list but bowling alleys were not is a legitimate question and probably one that was included in the lawsuit. I'm reasonably sure any competent lawyer would have made that their argument and not try to compare pool halls to bars and restaurants.
ReplyDeleteDoes any know the names and locations of all 16 on list? I can't find it anywhere
ReplyDeleteThe city’s own stats tied 1.4% of covid cases to bars and restaurants when they shut them down again. So the distancing and masks and barriers and reduced capacity must have been working, and it’s ridiculous they were closed again. The vast majority of cases were small friends and family gatherings... so maybe we don’t need to bankrupt every venue.
ReplyDelete