ALBANY, NY (AP) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that New York will seek a 20,000 fine from promoters planning a July concert by The Chainsmokers for widespread violations of social distance rules.
Democrats have threatened to snatch state funding from schools in the coronavirus hotspots, disregarding orders to close their doors, saying their notoriety endangers public health.
“This is the last and final warning,” Kumo said.
The governor’s office said the promoter of the Chainsmokers concert, in his experiences, violated public health laws at the Southampton event and held a significant gathering and failed to enforce the mandatory rules for people wearing masks if they could not stay ks ft (2 m). ) Except. People gathered near the end of the rally despite the presence of private security and town police officers.
Kumo called the concert, which was attended by more than 2,150 people, a “serious violation” of the rules. Concert organizers declined to comment through their promotion company.
Cuomo said it was also temporarily revoking Town SF Southampton to issue permits for similar events without state approval.
Supervisor Jay Snyderman said the city is asking the state to reduce the weight on special event permits, but said it is not aware of Cumo’s decision until it is announced on Wednesday.
“It’s a norm that no other city has to go through,” Snyderman said.
Cuomo aides told town attorneys Wednesday afternoon that the town makes mistakes in approving the incident, but did not share what those mistakes were or what events require state approval, Snyderman said.
“When we issued the permit, we followed the rule and the state can experience this,” he said. “It’s challenging when the event organizer doesn’t follow the rules.”
He added, “If we have made a mistake, let us know what it is and give us a chance to correct it.”
The governor, who lamented the failure of some local governments to enforce coronavirus restrictions for weeks, also said Wednesday that the state is giving local governments a warning that they will lose state funding and schools if they do not impose limits on public meetings.
The governor recently ordered schools in designated cluster zones to switch to remote learning for at least 14 days to prevent the spread of the virus. Cumo said the letter would go to New York City, Orange County, Rockland County, Ramapo Town and Spring Valley Village.
Cuomo did not immediately say how much money would be withheld or the names of schools that would break the rules.
The move follows reports from several news organizations, including Gothmist, that Jewish religious schools in some parts of Brooklyn are open to violating the rules.
“I guarantee that if any Ishiwa shuts down and they don’t get state funding, you’ll see compliance,” Kumo said.
The Orange County Health Department said Tuesday it issued notices to three schools in open spaces around the Orthodox Jewish city of Palm Tree, including one for children and two for failing to apply masks and social distance protocols. County spokesman.
The governor said there is widespread discretion in the state to withhold state aid.
Kuomo said, “We have the ability to raise all the funds from one area. All the funds. Which is significant. How much penalty will we give them? It depends and it will be at our discretion. Because we can raise all the funds.”
He urged local governments to be serious about implementation.
“They have employees, they have to be prepared to do that,” he said.
___ Associated Press Writer Michael Hill contributed to the reporting.
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