State Says Gyms in Co-ops and Condos Must Also Close

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order that “any gym, fitness centers or classes” were to cease operations Monday evening in an effort to slow the galloping spread of coronavirus, the state has issued a clarification: the order also applies to gyms in residential buildings, including cooperatives and condominiums, The Real Deal reports.

How will the state enforce the order? Stuart Saft, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight, says violation of the rule could technically be considered a misdemeanor. “It seems to me,” he says, “that if an order is issued by the governor that is violated by the building, then I imagine at the very least a violation could get placed against the building, and theoretically the state could send in state troopers to close the gym – and possibly even arrest the operator.”

The gym closures are part of a vast and growing array of state- and city-mandated efforts to combat Covid-19, which shows no signs of slowing its spread. From Tuesday to Wednesday, the number of cases in New York City jumped from 814 to 1,339, an increase that is being attributed partly to ramped up testing.

Meanwhile, Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio disagreed, as they so often do, on whether a citywide quarantine is imminent. “I think New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order," de Blasio said on Tuesday, predicting that the order would come in the ensuing 48 hours.

Through his secretary, Cuomo replied: "Any blanket quarantine or shelter-in-place policy would require state action, and as the governor has said, there is no consideration of that for any locality at this time."

That statement, like everything else in these traumatic times, is subject to change.