You make me feel like dancing — sort of.
More like you make me feel like canceling.
The state announced Saturday that when wedding receptions return March 15, guests will be allowed to dance only with members of their immediate party, household or family seated at the same table.
Dancers will need to wear face masks and stay within their own “dancing areas or zones.” Spaces should be at least 36 square feet in size and positioned at least 6 feet apart from other dance zones and tables.
Live entertainers are allowed but if they’re unmasked or playing a wind instrument they need to be separated from attendees by 12 feet or a physical barrier.
Mickey King, owner of Antun’s in Queens Village, said he has had seven cancellations since the announcement.
“They don’t want to go through the hassle,” he said.
King said potential customers have asked why the measures are necessary if everyone inside has tested negative for the virus.
“I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I don’t have an answer to give them. I felt silly,” he said.
Some customers have pushed weddings back to 2022, “which just leaves me with an empty date, so now I have a date with no revenue,” King said.
“I cannot win. Every time [Cuomo] adds a rule I lost parties.”
He said he is still deciding whether to mark off the dance floor with tape or to just space tables even more apart.
“We’re still playing with different ideas,” King said.
Latasha Smith, CEO and president of Occasions Banquet and Catering Hall in Jamaica, said the governor keeps handcuffing business owners. “Cuomo has already decimated our industry and he’s really put us so far in debt and then they just keep doing it,” she told the Chronicle Wednesday, saying the rules are “really frustrating.”
