Plus: Cuo restricts dancing at weddings!
Just call him Gov. Footloose. New York finally opened up to weddings with as many as 150 guests Monday, with one caveat — no dancing with just anyone, Gov. Cuomo said.
For starters, guests have to keep their masks on out on the dance floor, removing them only when seated and either eating or drinking.
And they can dance only with members of their immediate household or people seated at their table.
Anyone dancing must also stay in their own “zone,” which is described as a “designated and clearly marked” area that is at least six feet from any other dancing zone.
“I tried to explain the dancing rule and was told by one of my clients, ‘You’re making that up,’ ” Mickey King, owner of Antun’s catering hall in Queens, said of the socially distanced dancing rules.
King said he was slammed with six cancellations and postponements for parties that had been booked for April through October after the Cuomo administration released a 17-page document detailing the new rules.
“How can we police whether table three and four are mingling,” said one operator who did not want to be identified. “If they choose to dance together, who am I to stop their freedom of expression?”
“I guess I’ll use masking tape,” King said of the “zone” requirements. “But how ugly is that going to look when I have to outline a box on a floor?”
While the dancing rules raised eyebrows, the biggest gripe by far, King said, centered on the state’s COVID-19 testing stipulation.
Anyone attending a wedding or other large social gathering in New York must provide proof of a negative result within 72 hours of the event — or proof of an antigen test performed within six hours of the party. New Jersey is also allowing weddings with up to 150 guests, but isn’t requiring tests.
“The testing is an issue,” agreed Max Janoff, a partner at Crystal Plaza in Livingston, NJ, who says he’s been fielding calls from New Yorkers ever since the new party rules came out. Janoff has already booked an October wedding for Manhattan couple who first considered the Big Apple before settling on New Jersey because the state has less strict rules.
On Staten Island, at least three parties that were booked at the Hilton Garden Inn recently canceled and moved their events to the Garden State, citing New York’s restrictive testing rules, according to Anthony Gerardi, a partner at Sound Productions, which provides music.
“You don’t get tested to walk into a Walmart, go to a restaurant or attend a Zumba class, so why do you need to get tested for a private event?” clients asked Gerardi, he said.
Despite the annoyances, the New York-based events industry is heaving a sigh of relief over the increased guest limit, as it will lead to more business overall and bring more people back to work.
Arthur Backal, who runs the Mandarin Oriental’s party spaces, among other luxury venues in the city, said he and his team are fielding up to 20 requests a week for people wanting a tour of the venues. That’s compared with one such appointment every two weeks last year.
“All of our calls had been about postponements and cancellations — until now,” Backal said.
And New Yorkers who’d been sitting on the fence about weddings in the spring and summer are now printing their invitations, according to Ashley Douglass, who runs an eponymous event- planning business.
“I had two couples who just signed off on sending their invitations to the printer for weddings in May and June,” Douglass told The Post. “That’s a big deal,” she said, “because it’s a nonrefundable expense and can run anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000.”
Meanwhile, Larry Gold’s Unique Event Group on March 2 booked a combination DJ and band for two weddings in June and August, while Hechler Photographers had its first in-person meeting with a bride and her mom on Feb. 24 to discuss a wedding at The Pierre hotel.
“People who moved their wedding dates multiple times last year now want to move their dates up to May and June from the fall,” added Gerardi.
On June 19, Midtown’s Gotham Hall — a 9,000-square-foot ballroom that hosts more than 40 weddings annually — will host its first wedding in more than a year.
As for the COVID tests, some couples are offering to take care of the testing for their guests — even though hiring lab technicians to administer rapid tests as guests arrive can cost anywhere from $50 to $150 per person, Douglass said.