RyeCity REVIEW THE
November 27, 2020 | Vol. 8, Number 48 | www.ryecityreview.com
Parts of New Rochelle tagged COVID Yellow Zone
RYE’S NO. 1! Rye celebrates with the Southern Westchester Large School championship plaque on Nov. 23. The Garnets defeated Scarsdale 2-1 in double-overtime to become champions. For story, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
County launches program to help businesses Focused on supporting local businesses struggling during the pandemic, County Executive George Latimer and the Westchester County Office of Economic Development today unveiled Westchester RISES, a free program designed to support existing businesses who are looking to pivot or rebuild in response to the pandemic, or build resilience to prepare for whatever shock might be next. “COVID-19’s impact on businesses has been staggering,” Westchester County Executive George Latimer said. “We continue to rally behind our existing businesses and look forward to supporting them through the Westchester RISES program.” Westchester RISES, in association with Accel7, a business and startup accelerator based in New Rochelle, is a mentoring
and training program to support business owners who are reinventing, reinvigorating or otherwise changing their business as the result of COVID-19. Well-known entrepreneur Danny Potocki, managing director of Accel7, will lead the program, which will include numerous distinguished speakers and mentors. Through online workshops, industry roundtables and one-onone mentoring, business owners and entrepreneurs can gain the knowledge and skills necessary to plan their next steps, navigate core business challenges and respond to the pandemic economic environment. “When the business landscape changes dramatically, as it has during the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners must react strategically. Pivoting and rebuilding can be monumental tasks, and
we want to connect businesses with local experts to help them navigate these processes, and collaborate with peers in their sector to help address challenges facing their industry,” said Deborah Novick, county director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “Westchester RISES offers tangible, action-oriented training for business owners wishing to make changes to their businesses now, or plan ahead to be more resilient when the next big challenge presents itself.” Westchester RISES is a 6-month, virtual program and business owners are invited to participate in as many—or as few—of the workshops and roundtables as they would like. Topics for the 10-online workshops include Marketing Your Business in a Pandemic, Rehiring Your Team, Seeking Funding in
Challenging Times, and other key topics of interest to business owners. The focus of industry roundtables will be determined by the industries who participate in the program and the specific challenges these businesses are facing. The Westchester RISES program is an important step towards building resilience and equipping businesses to respond to future challenges. The first workshop will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at noon via Zoom conference, and will focus on engaging your team while navigating the pandemic economy. Participants can register by visiting www.westchesterrises. com/workshops. For more information on RISES, including a complete schedule of workshops and roundtables, visit www.westchesterrises. com. (Submitted)
On Thursday, Nov. 19, New York State established a yellow COVID zone in parts of New Rochelle as well as several other communities in Westchester County, including Yonkers, Port Chester, Tarrytown and Peekskill. In Westchester, the daily infection rate has ticked up to a concerning 4.6%, significantly higher than previous months when that rate had consistently remainder under 1%. Similarly, statewide has seen an uptick of the infection rate to 3.1%. As a part of that continuing increase in COVID-19 cases throughout New York, cluster areas have been identified by zip codes and tagged micro-clusters. New Rochelle’s zone covers about half of the 10801 zip code and a portion of the 10805 zip code, mainly encompassing the city’s downtown district. If a community is tagged with a Yellow Zone it triggers tightened restrictions such as restaurant dining limited to four people per table; houses of worship limited to 50% capacity; non-residential gatherings are restricted to a maximum of 25 people; gatherings at private homes are already limited to a maximum of 10 people statewide; and information on public school impacts will come directly from the school districts. Beginning on Monday, Nov. 23, New Rochelle City Hall was closed to the public, except by appointment. Multiple services will remain available online. The New Rochelle City School District of New Rochelle, with the exception of a cohort of special education classes, reverted to a fully virtual learning experience, effective, Nov. 20. That plan will remain in effect until at
least Dec. 3, according to the school district. ”If you look around the country, around the world, COVID is surging. In New York, we are not immune to what’s happening around us—and with the cold weather and holiday travel, from here to January is going to be very dangerous. We’re going to add some additional micro-cluster zones. While some areas have improved over the past weeks, other parts have seen a higher positivity rate,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press briefing on Nov. 21. “These next few weeks will be challenging with the holidays, especially since we all want to see our loved ones after the year we have had, but we cannot let our guard down. Love is sometimes doing what’s hard— this year, if you love someone, it is smarter and better to stay away, as hard as that is to say and hear. We can get through this if we all continue to wear our masks, stay socially distant, avoid gatherings, wash our hands and above all, stay New York Tough.” Back on Nov. 13, Cuomo put enhanced restrictions into effect statewide. Bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as any State Liquor Authority-licensed, SLA, establishment, must close in-person service from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. SLA licensed establishments, including bars and restaurants, will close daily at 10 p.m. Bowling alleys that have liquor licenses are also included in the new measure. After 10 p.m. restaurants will be able to provide curbside/food pickup only Gyms will also close daily at 10 p.m. (Submitted)