Live Comedy is Still Banned

Several have asked why QED isn’t hosting shows when places like Bartolino’s Restaurant in Astoria are. The DoH and SLA have approved the 5-page proposal I drafted for reopening. The only reason nothing has changed is because Gov. Cuomo has not signed off on it. If you’ve not read it, it’s available here: www.tinyurl.com/savenycomedy

That means that any ticketed arts and entertainment at any licensed venue is not allowed. If you are seeing it happen at venue that sells food & beverages, it is illegal. It’s a known risk for some or willful ignorance, flouting the rules, rolling the dice. Insert whatever idiom or description you want, it doesn’t make it more legal.

Selling food & beverages in an unlicensed venue is also illegal. A venue has to have license from the Dept of Health in order to allow any handling of F&B. To change the situation and allow ticketed arts & entertainment at licensed venues, Gov. Cuomo has to allow it. He’s the only one. He’s the solution and the problem.

We tried calling him out on this publicly during our 9/22 press conference. We got more press than I’ve ever gotten for any press conference I’ve helped on ever. It made zero bit of difference. Why? Cuomo. Again. He’s it.

Options to reopen legally:
1) Get the Governor to acknowledge the arbitrary and contradictory rules and change them / approve our proposal.
2) The State Legislature reconvenes and strips away his absolute power (Andrea Stewart Cousins and Carl Heastie hold this power, I believe) and then what? Maybe individual mayors can decide?
3) Is there a 3? Just wait until a vaccine or new Gov, whichever comes first? I don’t have time for that so I don’t think there is a 3. Am I forgetting another option?

His right hand Richard Azzopardi is active on Twitter. He’s the only one I know of that we can directly contact w/ any direct and immediate line of communication to the Governor. https://twitter.com/RichAzzopardi

If you have other insight or questions, drop them in the comments below.