COLONIE — Bill Lia is ready to get back to business.
Since March 17, when Lia was forced to shut down all of the VENT Fitness locations he operates in the Capital Region, he installed sneeze guards, shields and signs throughout his four gyms. He spaced out every piece of equipment by six feet. He paused billing for his members because he thought it was the right thing to do.
Though the Capital Region began the final phase of the state's economic reopening plan on Wednesday, Lia and other New York gym owners still don't know when they can open their doors. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week said gyms, malls and movie theaters will not be able to open until research is done on how COVID-19 is spread through HVAC and air-filtering systems.
"We certainly never anticipated that things would go on this long," Lia said. "We’re concerned that we’re going to continue to be shut down with no direction in terms of when we’re going to be able to open. ... It’s been tough. We’ve worked hard to prepare right from day one."
Some business owners seem prepared to take the matter to court. A gym owner on Long Island said he and his attorney were prepared to recruit up to 2,000 gym owners statewide for a class action lawsuit, the Long Island Press reported. James Mermigis, a lawyer representing the gym, said he expects to file the petition by Friday.
"All of these gym owners that I’m representing, and I’ve met with a lot of them, they have incredible opening plans," Mermigis said. "I think gyms are being unneccesarily slandered here. ... The bottom line is, we’re going into July. Most of these people are small business owners. Who’s going to pay their bills? Who’s going to pay their rent? Who’s going to pay for food on their family’s table? They’re being told to shut down. So what, they’re going to lose their business?"
Lia said he can empathize with those owners' frustration, but doesn't believe fighting the issue in court is the way to go.
"We really believe that working with the government, collaborating, providing information, communicating what our concerns are, that’s how we want to get this done," he said. Lia last week set up an alliance of gym owners who say they have stringent procedures in place and are able to reopen. The New York State Fitness Alliance has about 30 members.
Lia said he doesn't understand why big-box stores with HVAC systems and people shopping indoors are allowed to open, while fitness centers are not. Not only does his gym have more strict requirements than a place like Wal-Mart and Target, Lia said, but it also keeps a log of who walks in and out.
"If someone came in, I can tell you at this time this person was in my facility, they went to this class and guess what? I can also tell you the 20 people that were around them most closely, and I can also tell you the 50 people that might have been in the facility and not close to them," Lia said. "And I can email and contact them in a matter of minutes, because we have that data."
Cuomo's office did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment about the potential lawsuit. Lia said he doesn't fault the governor entirely.
"I don’t envy the governor’s position of having to deal with making these decisions," he said. "I think where the frustration is, is our industry was the first to close, and we’re probably going to be the last to open, and we just haven’t been given a lot of communication about what it is that’s driving those decisions. ... Let’s do it together as opposed to having the government try to figure it out without consulting industry experts and professionals."
Michael.Williams@timesunion.com
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