Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C,I-Deerpark) today supported the “New York’s Regional Restart” initiative introduced by the Assembly Minority Conference. The initiative comes in reaction to Gov. Cuomo’s plan to reopen the state on May 15.

“New York’s Regional Restart” is a forward-looking plan to begin to restart the economy. Because individual regions in New York have differing rates of infection and population density, some areas of the state would remain closed while others reopen under this proposal. Social distancing practices for businesses are also outlined in this proposal.

The decision to reopen a region would fall into the hands of the New York State Department of Health and its collaboration with local health departments to create a formula. The formula would consider the percentage of confirmed cases in an area and, if the percentage falls below an established number, 25% of non-essential businesses could reopen; this percentage would increase as infection rates flatten or decrease.

The specific numbers and regional plans would be assembled by the “New York Regional Restart Panel,” consisting of experts in economic development, healthcare, labor, agriculture and appointees from Assembly and Senate leadership.

“New York cannot be reopened with a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Brabenec. “The TV commercials that tout the diversity of our state with an ‘I Love NY’ slogan should easily remind Gov. Cuomo that we are made up of many regions.

“‘New York’s Regional Restart’ is the necessary rebuttal to the May 15 reopening date. There is no question that our state and the country as a whole will need to recover financially from COVID-19. The response to moderate our situation from our governor, though, just doesn’t cut it. The creation of regional task forces outlined in this plan is the first step toward understanding the needs of the conglomeration of residents who call themselves New Yorkers.”

The report may be viewed here.