Editorial
No laughing matter
Last week saw the demise of Dangerfi
eld’s, the popular Manhattan
comedy club founded by the late
Rodney Dangerfi eld, which shut down not
out of a lack of respect, but rather from a
lack of customers the past seven months.
Dangerfi eld’s and scores of other comedy
clubs and live entertainment venues throughout
New York have been dark since March
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the
virus’ spread waned and other businesses
were allowed to reopen at limited capacity,
the venues remain closed to the public.
COVID-19 is no laughing matter — but
neither is the demise of comedy clubs,
theaters, concert halls and other venues in
New York, the live entertainment capital of
the world. This industry employs hundreds
of thousands of people both directly and
indirectly, supporting not just themselves
but nearby restaurants, bars and stores that
also profi t from the audiences coming into
town to take in a show.
At this time, there is no plausible way
to reopen the venues to full capacity; the
health risk remains too great. But bowling
alleys are open at 50% capacity; gyms are
back in business at 33% capacity; and restaurants
are welcoming diners back inside
at 25% capacity.
Most New York comedy clubs and other
live entertainment venues have low capacities,
200 or less. Reopening a 200-seat
venue at 25% capacity allows 50 patrons
to watch a show comfortably while socially
distanced and protected.
The New York Comedy Coalition, an organization
of comedy club venue operators,
included this idea as part of a reopening
plan it presented to Governor Andrew
Cuomo weeks ago. However, the plan itself
failed to gain any traction as of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Senator Chuck Schumer is
lobbying for passage of the Save Our Stages
Act, which would provide a much-needed
infusion of federal aid toward struggling
venue operators across the U.S. But at the
present time, that bill, along with other
robust federal aid packages, isn’t going anywhere
as long as Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell controls the Senate.
Without any federal help coming, it’s
up to the state to allow the venues to help
themselves as much as they can — while
maintaining as much safety as possible.
That means green-lighting the partial
reopening of these venues to bring back
some audiences, return workers to a paying
basis and restore some of the joy we’ve lost
the past few months.
Op-ed
New Yorkers:
Make your voting plan
BY LAURA WOOD AND JARRET
BERG
Amid the ongoing uncertainty and
hardship wrought by the raging
COVID-19 pandemic, one bright
spot where relief has kept pace with the
public health emergency in New York is the
progress made reducing longstanding barriers
to voter access, by modernizing our
elections and improving voter convenience.
Although there are evolving headwinds
to political participation, New York
is providing voters safe and convenient
options to make their voices heard at the
ballot box. For those who have not cast
a ballot since the midterm elections in
2018, there are now “Three ways to vote
in Election 2020” instead of the single Election
Day, providing residents with fl exible
in-person and remote voting options to
choose from in the coming days.
Early Voting: Saturday Oct. 24 – Nov.
1. Thanks to 2019 legislation that created
a reasonable in-person early voting
period, New York City will now offer residents
an additional 64 hours to vote over
nine days, including two weekends and
evening hours on select weekdays. The
early voting period runs from Sat. October
24 – Sun. November 1. During this time City
voters may visit their assigned early voting
location—one of eighty-eight being deployed
around the City. Those that do will privately
mark and scan their ballot just as they would
on Election Day, minus the big crowds.
Casting a ballot during the early voting
period allows New Yorkers to maintain
adequate social distance while voting. By
spreading voters out over several days
instead of one marathon voting day,
early voting is one of the most prescient recent
reforms, adopted before social distancing
was understood to be a public health
benefi t. New Yorkers, always mindful to
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
wear their masks, have the option to include
voting early as they venture out for
groceries or run errands. One more benefi t:
Early voters avoid USPS logistics entirely;
there is no need to forage for stamps.
Voting from Home: Request your ballot
by Oct. 27. As New York’s COVID infections
surged this past spring, Governor
Cuomo clarified in an Executive Order
that a voter’s unavailability to appear
in person due to “temporary illness”—one
of the permissible reasons—includes “the
prevalence and community spread of
COVID-19” illness, including “the potential
for contraction.” This summer,
lawmakers codified this understanding,
permitting any New Yorker to vote
from home, but only if they request
a ballot by the Oct. 27 deadline.
For those considering voting from
home, it’s easier than ever to do so.
Thanks to a new law, anyone with internet
access can request a mail ballot online in
seconds by completing a simple online
form. New Yorkers can also request a
ballot by calling 1-866-VOTE-NYC
(1-866-868-3692).
Vote on Election Day: Tuesday Nov. 3, 6
AM– 9 PM: New Yorkers are still welcome
to wait for Election Day, the last opportunity
to vote, when polls will be open from 6 AM
to 9 PM, but now they have some really decent
alternatives to avoid crowding at poll
sites. But we have to spread the word so New
Yorkers can make informed voting plans.
Many things about New York are necessarily
different now, at least for the time
being. But one series of long-overdue
changes that need not sunset are the many
improvements to voter access.
Laura Wood is the Senior Advisor
and General Counsel at the Mayor’s
DemocracyNYC Initiative. Jarret Berg attorney
and co-founder of the non-partisan
VoteEarlyNY.
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
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