New Yorkers can get back into the gym as soon as Aug. 24 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the OK for gyms to partially reopen during a press conference Monday.
Gyms can open as soon as August 24 at 33% capacity with mandatory mask wearing and other strict health measures.
HVAC systems must meet guidelines.
Localities must inspect every gym before it opens or within 2 weeks of opening.
Localities must enforce regulations.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 17, 2020
Gyms will be limited to 33% of their total capacity and masks must be worn at all times. Gyms will also need to make sure their ventilation systems meet new standards, Cuomo said during a press conference.
“There are health requirements that are in the guidelines that have to be maintained, to their ventilation requirements. This is a whole new topic, where we can do a lot of good work with the HVAC systems and filtration.”
Crunch Fitness has spent a quarter million dollars on an air filtration system that removes coronavirus particles from the air, according to a statement from Crunch Fitness CEO to Eyewitness News.
Not all gyms will open on Aug. 24, with Cuomo announcing localities must inspect gyms before they open or within two weeks of their opening to make sure they’re meeting state requirements.
“They have to inspect the gyms before the open or within two weeks of their opening to make sure they are meeting all of the requirements,” Cuomo said. “So the variation is to give the locality time. If the locality can get the inspections done or be ready to inspect, they can open August 24. If the locality cannot get ready to do inspections, then they get another week. They can do it September 2.”
Local governments also get to decide whether gyms can have indoor classes.
“Localities can decide whether or not those classes can be undertaken. Local-elected will be the decision and local health departments must inspect before or within two weeks to make sure the guidelines are in place,” Cuomo said.
Gyms are among the last businesses Cuomo has allowed to reopen following coronavirus shutdowns. After leaving gyms out of Phase 4 reopening plans, Cuomo called gyms “highly problematic” and a “dangerous activity” during an August press conference.
More than 1,500 gym owners filed a class action lawsuit against Cuomo, New York State and the state attorney general in July to put pressure on the state to reopen gyms, according to Patch. (RELATED: New Jersey Threatens Gym’s Business License. Owner Responds By Kicking In Their Front Door To Reopen)
“All these gyms want the same thing. They want to be able to open up in the same way other businesses have been opening up,” Attorney James G. Mermigis, who is representing the gyms, told the Staten Island Advance. “They want to be able to open up their businesses to prove they can open up safely, just like all these other businesses-like Walmart, Target, etc…”
“I filed an injunction to get the gyms to open immediately, for which the state has until Aug. 13 to respond…I’m hoping to have the executive order lifted in order to have the gyms open up, obviously with reasonable precautions for COVID-19, just like any other business,” Mermigis said.
“Basically, they’re taking away our clients’ livelihoods, our clients’ business, for public use or public purpose, which is, according to the governor, to stop the spread of COVID,” Mermigis said in a statement to Patch. “Therefore, pay these people. Pay the gym owners, because how are they supposed to survive?”
The lawsuit alleges the state violated the due process clause under the 14th Amendment and the takings clause under the Fifth Amendment. Mermigis said the second goal for the suit is “just compensation”.
“Many of these business owners still have several months’ rent to pay, as well as other expenses, like insurance and lost profit and lost revenue. So I’m going to be seeking damages for just compensation for all the months each gym was forced to be shuttered,” Mermigis said in his statement to the Staten Island Advance.
Mermigis confirmed to The Daily Caller that the plaintiffs will continue to seek monetary compensation for lost profits and revenue as a result of the lockdowns.