Analysis: New York Entertainment Venues Can Reopen, But Most Will Wait

A slide from Governor Cuomo's press conference outlines new statewide regulations

Event, arts and entertainment venues in New York State can end a year-long shutdown and reopen at 33% capacity beginning April 2. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference in Albany on March 3 that plays, concerts and other forms of entertainment can resume, but with sharply reduced capacity limits. Numerous event operators responded that these concessions may be insufficient for economic sustainability, however.

"Everybody wants all restrictions gone," Cuomo said. "Everybody does. Yes, but you also have to be smart about the reopening. In my opinion, some states are going too far too fast and that is a danger because COVID is still a risk and you relax those restrictions too far, you will see the beast rise up again."

According to the governor, the following are among the changes that will occur on April 2.

• event, arts and entertainment venues can reopen at 33% capacity
• venues can host up to 100 people indoors and up to 200 people outdoors
• venues opting for testing can host up to 150 people indoors and 500 people outdoors
• observance of social distancing and face coverings will be necessary at the venues

"New Yorkers have done a tremendous job working to defeat COVID, and we're gradually loosening restrictions as the numbers reduce and the public health improves. It's clear that if we remain vigilant, we will reach the light at the end of the tunnel," Cuomo said.

With larger venues still closed, musicians have been performing mostly in restaurants.
Above, Ruled by the Moon performed at Baby Brasa on March 3.

Snapshot Analysis

Although the term "event, arts and entertainment venues" was not defined, it seems to include all non-arena and non-restaurant venues that host live entertainment. In New York City, these venues could be as large as the Javits Center or Radio City Music Hall and as small as countless non-restaurant nightclubs such as Mercury Lounge and the Bitter End. Due to a lack of description, the live events presumably could include conventions, music concerts, ballet and other dance performances, comedy showcases, strip shows and more. In New York City, all these venues have been closed since the initial lockdown in mid-March 2020.

If the aforementioned venues mandate that all attendees present proof of negative COVID test prior to entry, maximum capacity can increase from 100 to 150 people indoors and from 200 to 500 people outdoors. Social distancing and face coverings will be required by all attendees, as well as strict adherence to all applicable Department of Health guidance.

Larger arenas and stadiums were not included in these new regulations. They already have other restrictions, including 10% capacity limits and mandatory COVID testing. These regulations were tested last week at sporting events at Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden.

Despite good intentions, the governor's 33% capacity with 150-person socially-distanced requirements continue to jeopardize the fate of long-shuttered entertainment venues. Larger venues such as Radio City Music Hall, the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, the Kings Theatre, the St. George Theatre, the United Palace, Terminal 5 and Brooklyn Steel, all meant to hold thousands of spectators, likely will not host concerts where the capacity is reduced to 100 to 150 ticketholders. Even mid-size general admission venues like Webster Hall, the Bowery Ballroom, the Brooklyn Bowl, and the Music Hall of Williamsburg, which before COVID sold hundreds of tickets for shows, cannot pay wages to staff and performers with such a low capacity unless ticket prices were exorbitant. Popular smaller venues like Arlene's Grocery, Baby's All Right, Blackthorn 51, Mercury Lounge, and Saint Vitus could admit only a few handfuls of customers if the customers needed to be standing six feet apart. While sponsored not-for-profit venues may be able to operate under these restrictions thanks to subsidies and endowments, even they would have to risk financial loss.

Miss Maybell & the Jazz Age Artistes at Rue-B on March 3

Touring Entertainers

Cuomo also announced domestic travelers to New York State who have been vaccinated no longer have to quarantine or test out within 90 days of their full vaccination. This is a positive development for the touring entertainment industry.

The new relaxation of travel restrictions makes touring in 2021 possible for American artists, but not yet for performers from other countries. Beginning on April 2, entertainers, crews and audiences will be able to enter New York State from another state without having to quarantine for 14 days. Current quarantine regulations had made tours impractical, since no traveling act would be willing to spend 14 days in a hotel room prior to a limited-capacity performance. International travelers, however, must continue to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many local concert halls, including Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, and the Kings Theatre, have touring talent booked for the summer and fall of 2021. The Beacon Theatre, for instance, has booked Jose Luis Perales and Iliza in May, Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band and Pimpinella in June, and a variety of others shows into the summer and fall. Several outdoor venues, including Forest Hills Stadium, SummerStage Central Park, and the Rooftop at Pier 17, have scheduled concerts for the summer. Mid-size and smaller venues including Webster Hall, the Bowery Ballroom, Sony Hall, the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Mercury Lounge, also have concerts booked well into the later part of the year.

Most of these concerts were rescheduled from 2020. There has been no announcement from the venues or concert promoters about hosting any of these concerts at reduced capacity, however. At 33% capacity, these concerts may not financially viable and maybe postponed again or cancelled. Venue operators and concert promoters booked these shows hoping that 100% capacity might be a reality by the time the tours came to New York.

Vinny Raniolo at the Anyway Café on March 3

Immediate Response

The New York Independent Venue Association released a statement in response to Cuomo's announcement.

NYIVA is encouraged by Governor Cuomo's commitment to reopening live events and we look forward to restoring New York as the arts capital of the world. We stand ready to do whatever it takes to be live once again for New York. We are not out of the woods yet and our independent venues have struggled to get through this pandemic. We were the first to close and the last to open and are working with the state to get the assistance we need in order to comply with the new requirements.

At this stage we can't provide exact numbers on which of our members plan to reopen. What we do know is that in order for independent music venues in New York to reopen and thrive, our industry needs financial support from the state to help procure the equipment and products to reopen safely and comply with the guidelines.

The New York Times reported that several venue operators said they will reopen on April 2. Scott Rudin and Jane Rosenthal, who are producers of the governor's statewide NY PopsUp program, told the Times that they expected some of the earliest performances could be pop-up programs inside Broadway theaters and at not-for-profit venues with flexible spaces, including the Apollo, Harlem Stage, La MaMa, the National Black Theater, the Park Avenue Armory, the Shed, and St. Ann's Warehouse. Cuomo announced these probable locations in February as part of the NY PopsUp program.

"That communion of audience and performer, which we've craved for a year, we can finally realize," said Alex Poots, the artistic director and chief executive of the Shed. He plans to begin indoor performances for limited-capacity audiences at the Shed in early April.

Cuomo's new loosening o restrictions presently will not impact commercial productions of Broadway plays and musicals. Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League, told the Times that Broadway is more apt to reopen after Labor Day, presuming that capacity limits are further relaxed. "For a traditional Broadway show, the financial model just doesn't work," she said of the new regulations. "How do we know that? Because shows that get that kind of attendance close."

For smaller venues, the current guidelines may not be worth the investment of reopening. Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge owner Michael Swier told the Times, "Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20 percent capacity, which is untenable."

Steven Bensusan, owner of the Blue Note jazz club, told the Times, "It doesn't make financial sense for the Blue Note to open with only 66 seats for shows."

The Underground Harmony at Caravan of Dreams on March 3

Restaurants Continue to Host Music Performances

Numerous pop-up possibilities have been promised by NY PopsUp, Mayor Bill de Blasio's Open Culture program, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Restart Stages program. For now, New York's live music circuit will remain centered in numerous restaurants. Musicians can perform at restaurants until 11 p.m. for 35%-capacity indoor capacity in New York City and 50% in the rest of the state. The New York State Restaurant Association and the NYC Hospitality Alliance continue to lobby for 50% indoor capacity and for the curfew to be pushed to midnight.

The Anyway Café, Marshall Stack, and Rue-B have musicians perform indoors for audiences both indoors and outdoors. Baby Brasa, Caravan of Dreams, the Corner Bistro, Joey Bats Café Lower East Side, and Pinky's Space have musicians outdoors for audiences in curbside sheds. The Juke Bar, the Red Lion, and Sour Mouse NYC have musicians perform indoors for indoor audiences. Bar Nine, Fine and Rare, the Flatiron Room, and Minton's Playhouse also recently began hosting live music.

Those waiting for the major venues to reopen for live entertainment may have to wait longer than April 2. Those willing to incorporate inner and drinks into their music plans can fulfill their desires tonight. Please remember to tip the musicians; most are working for tips alone.

Anya Aliferis at the Red Lion on March 3