Rack ’em up!
Bowling alleys in New York on Sunday stalled preparations to reopen without saving time as the state lifted its ban on coronavirus on Monday.
Head of State Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that he would reopen bowling alleys in the state after the weekend – sending owners into a happy panic and stealing players.
‘The phone is ringing off the hook! ” Mike Rudy, owner of the FunFest NY bowling alley in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, told The Post of customers who would like to reserve for the first time since the state’s state in mid-March.
He said some players had become so desperate for their bowling fix in recent months that they “begged to smoke at the back door so they could bowl.”
The new health safety rules at FunFest include only one group for every two routes – some of which are excluded from surrounding lanes with plastic leaks.
“We [also] will close the lanes for 30 minutes between each group bowling so we can sanitize the balls, clean the buttons and clean the chairs, ” said Rudy, 65.
‘I want people to feel safe. I know if they feel safe and comfortable, they will come back, ” he said.
‘It’s been so hard [being closed], ” said the owner. “We owe more than $ 300,000 to the landlord – and that’s not including taxes.”
Ecstatic FunFest bowler Scott Occhiogrosso, 48, told The Post, “We all have the glare back in our eyes knowing it will open.
“There’s something so beautiful about looking at someone who’s good at it,” he said.
‘I love bringing my kids along too and seeing how they fall in love with the game.’ ‘
Bowler Ron Pitts, 56, said: ‘I feel it’s absolutely safe to come back and bowl.
“You can put on a mask with a mask,” he said, noting the state demands amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
“If I could bully every day, I would do it.” ‘
Chris Mitchell, CEO of Better Off Bowling, a co-ed social bowling competition that brings adults together to play, said, “People are more than eager to get back on track” – especially in New York City.
“You can only do so many swipes and Netflix ” during lockdown, ‘” he said.
‘People just want this connection and community and fun activities they can do with their friends.
‘Nobody wants to be Florida,’ ‘Mitchell said, referring to the state’s spike in virus cases.
But bowling ‘is a sport where there is no contact, people do not breathe hard, people do not sweat.’ ‘
The opening of bowling alleys in New York comes as Cuomo’s office on Sunday reported 7 million diagnostic tests for coronavirus are now being conducted across the state – and that marked New York’s ninth consecutive day with a positivity rate below 1 percent.
Museums, other cultural sites and aquariums in the state have been removed for reopening August 24th.
.
