6 SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
‘We’ve been left with a black eye’
Owner of Glendale’s Laser Bounce Family Fun Center calls on Cuomo to reopen attractions
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
More and more businesses have
been given the green light
to reopen by Gov. Andrew
Cuomo as part of the state’s COVID-19
phased reopening plans — but some
exceptions include the attractions
industry.
Ryan D’Amico, the vice president,
owner and general manager of Laser
Bounce Family Fun Center in Glendale
and Levittown, believes Cuomo has delayed
the reopening of the attractions
industry for “far too long and to the
detriment” of the state.
“Family entertainment centers, water
parks, amusement parks — the overall
attractions industry — in New York
has been forgotten,” D’Amico wrote
in an op-ed. “We employ thousands of
people and contribute to our communities.
Our employees are ready to work.
Our guests are ready to return. And
we are ready to work with the state to
present our plans on how we do all of
this, safely.”
With New York’s COVID-19 infection
rate under 1 percent and schools
beginning in-person classes (amid
widespread concerns regarding
safety guidelines), D’Amico is calling
on Cuomo to reconsider his reluctance
of letting attractions come back.
D’Amico closed the doors to both
of Laser Bounce’s locations in March.
The family-owned “funplex,” featuring
laser tag, bounce houses and arcade
sections, has two indoor spaces, one
in Glendale at The Shops at Atlas Park
and the other on Long Island at 2710
Hempstead Turnpike.
The business has been around
for 10 years on Long Island, and expanded
to Glendale (which is 20,000
square feet) in 2018.
D’Amico said the months of COVID-
19 shutdown has led to more than $1
million in lost revenue. They first
furloughed employees, but eventually
had to lay off almost their whole staff ,
which in total is more than 100 people.
“We still have rental obligations, taxes
have to be paid,” he said. “We don’t
really have a choice at this point.”
While they were able to secure a PPP
loan and a loan from the Small Business
Administration, it doesn’t come close to
what they need to survive.
“Not only have we lost money, we’ve
given money back for refunds or deposits,”
D’Amico said. “We didn’t have
to do it, they were non refundable, but
we want to do that in goodwill to our
customers so they know we understand
they are going through tough
times as well.”
In the months they’ve been forced to
stay closed, Laser Bounce has increased
safety procedures and equipment. But,
D’Amico stressed that safety has and
will always be the attractions industry’s
fi rst priority.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, their
locations had hand sanitizer dispensers
scattered throughout their space.
Now, they have increased the available
hand sanitizer, added plexiglass to
separate counter workers from guests,
placed six-feet distance indicators and
added a thermal imaging camera that
takes the temperature of whoever enters
the location with no thermometer
needed.
They are also increasing cleaning,
using tools that spray sanitizer over
any surface.
D’Amico and about 50 fellow attractions
business owners across New
York took it upon themselves to give
Cuomo’s offi ce a 40-page packet on
guidance and reopening, as they felt
Ryan D’Amico, vice president, owner and general manager of Laser
Bounce Family Fun Center. Photos by Angélica Acevedo
they haven’t received any guidelines
since phased reopening began at the
end of June.
They are working with IAAPA, the
global association for the attractions
industry, which developed an in-depth
COVID-19 Reopening Guidance that
has been used in several other state
reopening plans.
“It goes into detail on what we’re
doing, how we’re doing it, how to keep
people safe,” he said. “We’ve kind of
fallen on deaf ears. No one’s really
listened to us at this point.”
In the last few months, indoor and
outdoor amusement parks were
allowed to reopen in neighboring
states like New Jersey, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts.
D’Amico said that in light of that,
they’ve hired a lobbying fi rm to help
push their message.
He said it’s frustrating that they’ve
been told they are not allowed to
reopen due to concerns of children’s
safety.
“Why are casinos open? Why are
gyms open? Why are trampoline parks
open? Bowling alleys could open — but
we’re not allowed to open,” he said.
“They keep telling us that it’s because
of the children and because they want
them to go back to school — but you’re
opening casinos, which is marketed
toward an older and elderly population
and they’re at a higher risk than
children are. They’re allowed to open
but arcades can’t. Doesn’t make any
sense to me.”
Cuomo recently told reporters the
opening of certain sectors boils down
to the mathematics of a manageable
infection rate.
“We don’t want to see the COVID
infection rate go over 1 percent for any
period of time,” Cuomo said.
D’Amico believes Cuomo is lumping
together bigger amusement parks with
smaller ones like Laser Bounce, and not
even providing them with a timeline
for when they can expect to reopen.
The governor’s offi ce did not respond
to QNS’ request for comment.
But at Laser Bounce, apart from
their safety precautions, they’ve set
up online registration and installed
an application that allows customers
to use their smartphones to pay for
arcade games in lieu of the original
money cards.
They have also equipped their space
with Merv-13 fi lters for proper ventilation,
which Cuomo mandated for other
businesses like malls.
D’Amico, his family’s sole provider,
said it’s been a fi nancially troubling time
for him and business owners like him.
“I have my own personal fi nancial
obligations,” he said. “I have no money
coming in. I’ve spent money out of my
own pocket to get my business up and
going. Everyday, it gets tougher and
tougher.”
D’Amico said that even when they
can reopen, it’ll take them years to
get their customer base back to what
it once was.
“It’s more diffi cult for us because
everyone else has open now and we’ve
been left with a black eye,” D’Amico
said. “They’re telling us we’re unsafe
and we’re not clean, but we have to go
back and tell people we’ve always been
safe and clean. That’s our number one
priority. And now we have to recover —
not only when we do get back open, but
we have to recover to say, ‘Look, we’re
beyond clean and safe. Come back to my
facilities.'”
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