New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a release yesterday, June 9th, that starting June 10th Long Island will be cleared to begin Phase Two of Reopening. The Governor, in conjunction with Global Public Health Experts states: “New York’s team of global public health experts advising the state’s reopening strategy has reviewed the numbers and data for Long Island and cleared this region to proceed with phase two of reopening beginning tomorrow, June 10th,” further noting: “as more regions across the state continue with the reopening process, New Yorkers should remember it was because of their hard work that we have been able to bend the curve and reopen this quickly, and all individuals should continue to follow the necessary guidelines and precautions to help prevent a renewed increase in the spread of the virus.”
Under Phase Two the following businesses are permitted to open:
- Offices
- Real Estates
- Essential and Phase II In-Store Retail
- Vehicle Sales, Leases, and Rentals
- Retail Rental, Repair, and Cleaning
- Commercial Building Management
- Hair Salons and Barbershops
- Outdoor and Take-Out/Delivery Food Services
Hauppauge businesses, whose services are amongst the categories listed above, are already preparing for their reopening. Many local fan favorites have been reaching out to their loyal customers via social media and their respective websites to share their joy with being able to once again resume providing their services as well as how exactly they will do so safely.
In a Facebook post on June 7th from “The Hair Ninja,” the owner shared: “Spent the afternoon cleaning, organizing and getting set up at my suite to get ready for our reopening…I’ll be taking my second chair and mirror out of the room for now since I won’t be able to have more than 1 person in the room at a time with me. I set up a sanitation station. When you come in I will be taking your temperature and asking you to fill out a COVID questionnaire. You will be asked to use hand sanitizer and if you need to purchase a disposable mask, I have them for $5.” followed by the sentiment that “I miss my Sola family. I miss my customers. I miss working. I will miss being home with my family. I’ve loved every second of it. I haven’t had a vacation in years. So this time off was welcomed. But now it’s time to work again. I can’t wait to see you all really soon.”
Chipotle, located at 387 Smithtown Bypass, has been utilizing delivery as well as a safe pick up system, detailing in a release: “we’ve taken additional precautions recently to safeguard our employees and our guests. These include: increased sanitization of high-touch, high traffic areas; elevated frequency of personal hygiene requirements; and a tamper evident packaging seal for mobile pick-up and delivery orders. Customers can also leave instructions in our app and online to request contactless deliveries.”
In addition to these protocols, retailers such as Dollar Tree, located at 586 Veterans Memorial Hwy, are enacting services such as early shopping for at-risk citizens where they “continue to dedicate the first shopping hour to our at-risk customers, including senior citizens, individuals with pre-existing health conditions, and pregnant women” and contactless payment, meaning “Most registers are now equipped with contactless payment through Tap to Pay with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.”
In the coming weeks and days, we will begin to see a shift towards Hauppauge businesses reopening in a safe and proper manner.