Advertisement

New York Movie Theaters Demand Capacity Rise to 50% by Memorial Weekend

After months of hammering at the door and demanding that they be allowed to increase their capacity limits, cinemas in New York got news from Gov. Andrew Cuomo that COVID restrictions would be loosened from 25% audience capacity to 33% audience capacity starting April 26. But one of the state’s top theater owners and industry lobbyists says that’s not enough. “We’re glad that we haven’t been completely ignored and that a step towards progress has been made, but we have made it very clear that theaters need to have the audience limit raised to 50% by Memorial Day weekend to survive financially,” Joe Masher, COO of Bowtie Cinemas and head of the National Association of Theater Owners’ New York division told TheWrap. “What New York is doing to us right now is simply doing damage to a worldwide industry.” Prior to Cuomo’s announcement, New York was one of the last two states in the country, along with Pennsylvania, to require 25% capacity limits for all of its counties. While some states enforce such a limit on a county-by-county basis — including California, Colorado and Oregon — major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco raised their limits to 50% earlier...

Read original story New York Movie Theaters Demand Capacity Rise to 50% by Memorial Weekend At TheWrap