OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

MAYOR BEN WALSH

January 4, 2021

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Cuomo,
I write with gratitude for your leadership of New York State during the COVID-19
pandemic. Your concern for health and safety and reliance on data to make decisions has
been admired and appreciated. I have valued the opportunity to serve on the Central New
York Regional Control Room and the opportunity to communicate with your
Administration throughout the pandemic.
Working with your team, I have expressed on several occasions including this past
weekend, my concerns about the impact of Orange Zone restrictions on small businesses,
particularly restaurants, in the City of Syracuse. To date, about 35 restaurants in my City
have temporarily or permanently closed their doors during the pandemic. We’ve seen an
uptick in closures since the Orange Zone restrictions were put in place.
With full understanding and painful awareness of the fact that our infection rate in
Onondaga County is still too high and we are losing neighbors to the virus on a daily basis,
I believe the current approach is not in keeping with the State’s commitment to following
the data and is inherently unfair. While the Orange Zone in Onondaga County primarily
impacts businesses in the City of Syracuse, the municipal boundaries in our metropolitan
area have no bearing on how people actually move around. My concern at this stage is
that instead of managing occupancy, the restrictions are creating a reverse effect in areas
outside of the City of Syracuse. Just today, I received an urgent message from a CNY
region resident: “We get lots of people from Syracuse that can’t dine indoors, and it is
scary.” This report is consistent with many others we are receiving.

Office of the Mayor

Just as your Administration has recently done with schools, gyms and salons, I
233 E. Washington St. respectfully, but urgently, request that you revise the current zones and/or restrictions to
201 City Hall more accurately reflect the actual data on how and where the virus is being spread as
Syracuse, N.Y. 13202 soon as possible. County Executive McMahon has suggested putting the entire County in a
yellow zone, and I support that offer. Our business owners are ready and willing to get
Office 315 448 8005
Fax 315 448 8067 creative and pilot new strategies to keep people safe.
www.syrgov.net

GROWTH. DIVERSITY. OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo 4 January 2021
Page 2

The City of Syracuse will again welcome the State’s assistance and cooperation. Every day that goes by
without a change is another day that small business owners and employees in the City of Syracuse
unfairly suffer irreparable economic losses.
Thank you for your timely consideration and continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Ben Walsh
Mayor, City of Syracuse

GROWTH. DIVERSITY. OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.