“Recovery from the pandemic has been frustratingly stalled in the Southern Tier. First, our local small businesses were shut down by the governor’s statewide lockdown when cases were almost nonexistent in this region, then certain types of businesses were discriminated against without sound proof that they contributed to COVID-19 spread.Now we have been fighting against seemingly arbitrary shutdown rules that have put Chemung and Tioga counties at a disadvantage being placed in Micro-Cluster Controlled Zones that has kept businesses in my district shuttered and restricted for months. The governor needs to place priority on helping our local small businesses and, like with much of his pandemic response, I am not hearing much of a strategy.”