Long Island retailers prepare to reopen with big changes to how business is conducted

The first phase of reopening is approaching and Long Island retailers are preparing to do business in a whole new way.

News 12 Staff

May 11, 2020, 11:16 PM

Updated 1,720 days ago

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The first phase of reopening is approaching and Long Island retailers are preparing to do business in a whole new way.
Barbara Goldfarb and her husband own the MJ Beanz toy store in Plainview. Goldfarb says her business is considered essential by the state because it sells educational toys, workbooks and puzzles to teachers, therapists and senior citizens. The store has been open for limited hours doing local delivery and parking lot pickups.
Goldfarb says she's thrilled to hear that once the county meets the state criteria, more businesses can open.
"Obviously safety is the most important thing because you don't want it to open and then close two weeks later because that defeats the purpose," says Goldfarb.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined the requirements for opening businesses during his daily briefing. Under his plan, businesses may have to adjust hours and shifts, employees wil have to maintain social distancing, masks will be required if workers are in frequent contact with others, and strict sanitizing and cleaning standards will be in place. In addition, there will be health screening for employees along with tracing, tracking and reporting of cases.
Cuomo also says certain low-risk businesses will be allowed to reopen this week. Those businesses include landscaping and gardening, outdoor low-risk recreational activities like tennis and drive-in movie theaters. 
Cuomo says the most important part moving forward is monitoring.
So far, Nassau and Suffolk counties have not met all of the state criteria for reopening.
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