SARATOGA SPRINGS — The amphitheater is quiet with a passive unease. Neither bluster nor discord rise from these seats, and a disturbing tranquility hovers atop the stage. These first days of summer in the summer of COVID, the grounds are vacant of any human. The earth takes deep breaths and exhales a hissing of summer lawns. 

“On March 16, our whole staff of 25 began working from home and have not been back to the office,” says Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “Our magnificent amphitheater – normally a frenetic hive of activity – is now shuttered. Who or what you might ask is SPAC in a summer that seems to have gone silent? And who are we in a world of hurt that longs for healing?”

Deep behind the scenes, however, plans are underway that point to renewal. This place of creativity is getting creative. “Untethered,” Sobol calls it. 

“Un-tethered. We are no longer tethered to this beast that is SPAC in the summer. It’s forcing us to be open and creative and kind of invent stuff on the spot and figure out what we can do,” Sobol says. 

“We’ve been thinking about ways we can help the community of musicians, the community of wellness practitioners. That’s where we really started focusing our energy: How can we use the SPAC grounds and the new spaces to allow the community to do the things here that they really need to do and where there’s not any other place to do it?”

SPAC has been working on staging in-person gathering on its grounds this summer, which is slated to potentially include wellness activities in partnership with COESA, art classes, small-scale musical events, cinematic performance screenings and other types of gatherings, all in adherence with guidelines from the state, and all on the sprawling SPAC lawns.   

“We’re putting together detailed procedures and protocols which include socially distanced parking, contact-less registration and ticketing.”  Spots to be inhabited by humans will be separated and marked off in chalk, attendance will be limited, and one single-use sanitized bathroom will be open. 

 The organization is also set to unveil The Pines at SPAC - a new construction project which should be completed by the second week of July. The 4,000 square foot indoor/outdoor, year-round education and community events space features a pavilion and a terrace where some small gathering events may take place. 

“The challenge for us: When the acronym ‘SPAC’ is uttered people imagine thousands and thousands of people and the ‘COVID Shudder’ goes through them; what we’re trying to do is: don’t think of us as SPAC – the home of Live Nation and presenter of the New York City Ballet and Philadelphia Orchestra in the amphitheater. Think of us as a home in the park and all the acreage of open space that we have where people can gather safely. And we have this incredible team who has created this fantastic protocol,” says Sobol, who arrived at SPAC in the fall of 2016. 

There are of course financial ramifications. SPAC is a 501(c)3 charitable organization with an annual operating budget of about $10 million. While capital funds for infrastructure projects have come via Parks and the State, there is no similarly sourced financial support for operating the organization. 

To normally meet that $10 million operating budget, about $5 million in revenue is generated from ticket sales, rent paid by promoter Live Nation which stages the summer pop concerts, and some other miscellaneous sources.  The other $5 million must largely be raised through SPAC memberships, charitable donations and corporate underwriting.

“The only thing that will sustain us and allow us to operate in 2021 is if we have people  support now, because you can’t shut SPAC down until the end of the year and think you’re going to have a summer next year. The work we do, the programming itself takes a year to do a season at SPAC. We just don’t know what next year is going to look like. Are we still going to be in social distancing mode - in which case we’ll only be able to (for example) sell 1,200 seats in our 5,200-seat amphitheater? Will the ballet be able to perform? Will they be able to put an orchestra in the pit? There are just so many questions,” Sobol says. 

“And there is our education program – we went from 5,000 to more than 50,000 kids a year throughout the Capital Region. That’s a huge impact we’ve had on the community and the children and creating that next generation of kids who care about the arts. That’s critical work we’re doing 24/7, 365 days-a-year. If we don’t have the support that all goes away and the programming for next year goes away.” That program worked with more than 120 local schools and non-profit organizations to present more than 400 unique classes, events, performances, and presentations in 2019 alone. 

The Capital Region is scheduled for Phase 4 of its reopening plan on July 1. SPAC is anticipated to announce its summer events shortly thereafter.

“To those who may ask why art is important during times like these, when even basic survival may be in question, remember this: art is not entertainment. Art is not a beautiful pastime. Art is a profound and essential expression of the human soul.”

This weekend, in lieu of the staging of the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, a virtual jazz festival will take place on June 26, 27 and 28, featuring both national and local artists, produced in partnership with Caffe Lena. SPAC has also created a virtual Learning Library featuring artists on its website. For more information, go to: SPAC.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Summertime in Saratoga may feature new dimensions in the outdoor dining experience. Literally. 

In an effort to help downtown businesses increase customer capacity while remaining compliant to COVID-19 restrictions, the city is exploring a variety of possibilities that would allow its merchants to expand their businesses across city sidewalks. 

The City Council is expected to address the matter at its Tuesday, June 16 meeting - immediately preceded by a public hearing at 6:55 p.m.   

A working draft of a proposal that will be presented to the council is being crafted this week. 

“Right now, the draft is basically allowing businesses to use the sidewalk as long as it’s ADA compliant – which is 48 inches for people to walk back and forth,” Accounts Commissioner John Franck said on June 9, one week prior to the meeting. Specifically, the measure would allow restaurants and other establishments to expand their outdoor spaces onto sidewalks, as long as 48 inches of pedestrian walkway is maintained, as per Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. 

“We want to see how that affects things. Is that going to move the needle for the restaurants one way or another? Do we need to do more?” said Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton. 

With summer approaching and some, but not all, state mandated restrictions related to COVID-19 being lifted, the idea of municipalities and businesses seeking creative ways to reopen the economy is a fluid one. Between this week and next week those creative options may change. Another idea being floated involves eliminating one lane of parking on city side streets to expand even greater the usable spaces for businesses.      

“A second option would be to look at the side streets, take one lane of parking away from the side streets and put up Jersey barriers between the parking lane and the driving lane,” Commissioner Dalton explained. That move would allow the current parking lane to become a barriered pedestrian walkway, and free existing sidewalks in their entirety for vendors and restaurants to use. Jersey barriers are concrete partitions and are so-named because of their notable use as median barriers in the late 1940s in New Jersey. 

Commissioner Franck has been leading the charge for the second option. “I’m hoping and really pushing for the change to also have the ability to add some of the street space – not close streets down – but to put barriers down that would allow more area in front of businesses – especially restaurants and bars – to give you more space for walking area and also in front of your restaurant, bar, or retail,” Franck said.   

“It’s evolving, and I don’t know if the votes are there for it, but why not just put a Jersey barrier out there along one side of the street. This isn’t for the next 20 years; later we could go back to business as usual, but the summer’s here – let’s get this done,” he said.

It is not clear whether that second measure may also be part of the June 16 meeting, but a majority of Council members – at least three of five member votes – are required to approve the proposal for it to take effect.   

That installation of barriers would be for a temporary period – perhaps only through the summer – but they would stay in place throughout the period of implementation. In other words, they wouldn’t be removed and re-inserted on a daily basis, or in accordance with business hours. And while they would only be placed on certain blocks in the downtown business core – and not on Broadway – their implementation could extend to both the east and west side of the city. 

As to which side streets the barriers would specifically be installed needs to be figured out. “It’s not like we’re going to impose it on everyone. The code would be re-written such that if the need is there, it’s something we can do.  We want to take logical steps,” Dalton said.

The Public Hearing will begin at 6:55 p.m. Two agenda items later into the meeting address the matter. The chapter amendment may be viewed HERE and a draft of the licensing process may be viewed HERE.

 SARATOGA SPRINGS – The City Council will host a Public Hearing June 16 regarding temporarily extending "eating and drinking establishments" onto "auxiliary seating areas" on public property, as a result of necessary spacing precautions during the COVID-19 epidemic. 

The measure – which would amend chapter 136 of the City Code – would allow the city to accommodate licensed eating and drinking establishments to provide their services to the public on specific public properties. Those public property locations have not been specified, although is generally assumed Broadway – a state road - is not among them. If approved, the approval process may be conducted through an application process for holders of valid licenses.

As of this week, there is little additional information regarding the matter. The public hearing will begin at 6:55 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. Since the start of the pandemic, City Council meetings are held via Zoom and are accessible through the city’s website. A State of Emergency currently remains in effect in Saratoga Springs til June 12. Comments may be sent to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

On Wednesday, June 3, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced outdoor dining at restaurants will be permitted beginning June 4 for restaurants in the Capital Region – which includes Saratoga Springs – as well as in the six other regions that have been approved for phase two reopenings. Outdoor tables must be spaced six feet apart, all staff must wear face coverings and customers must also wear face coverings when not seated.

Cover Photo: Pam Worth and Alexandra Besso of Spoken Boutique are stronger together. 
Gallery: 1. Marianne Barker and Maddy Zanetti, Impressions of Saratoga on Broadway. 
2. Lifestyles of Saratoga owner Heidi Owen West and Margie Rotchford. 
3. The Pink Paddock on Broadway.
All Photos by SuperSource Media. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Small business owners opened their doors to in-store customers and hair stylists their salons for the first time in more than two months as part of the Capital Region’s phase two reopening plan on June 3. Outdoor dining returned one day later. 

“We opened at 9 o’clock and we already had someone waiting at the door,” said Maddy Zanetti, at Impressions of Saratoga.  “We’ve been open the whole time for curbside, delivery and shipping but today is the first time of customers in the store.”  A table cradling bottles of hand sanitizer and disposable gloves and masks sat near the entryway door. 

“People are thrilled to be out,” added Marianne Barker. “I do think people who are leery are going to stay home for a while yet, but people know we’re pretty careful, we’ve been open about what we’re doing and the steps we’re taking."

Kimberly Burton opened the doors to her Pink Paddock shop at 11 a.m. “It’s been three months. Three very long months,” she said with emphasis, celebrating the 15th year of the Broadway shop that’s been fitted with hand sanitizing stations, plastic protective shields at the register counter and posted to inform customers of in-store capacity regulations. “I think people are anxious to get out of the house, to shop, to try on some new clothes,” she said gesturing toward the dressing rooms, which are disinfected between customer uses.

Phase Two reopening allows for in-store retail sales, hair salons and barbershops, and office-based work, in addition to real estate services, commercial building management, vehicle sales, leases, and rentals, and retail rental, repair, and cleaning. Outdoor dining was added to the list on the afternoon of June 3.    

“We’re already booked for the next three weeks,” said Yvette Ruddy, a hairstylist at Remarkable Finish on Broadway, where a digital thermometer rests at the entryway and customer chairs have been placed at a safe distance from one another. The employees have all been tested for the COVID-19 virus before ensuring they could return to work, she said. 

An array of state guidelines and restrictions accompany reopening plans for both workforce employees and customers, with presence being limited to no more than 50% of the maximum occupancy for a particular area, as set by the certificate of occupancy. Employers are also recommended to adjust workplace hours to limit in-person presence to necessary staff only, as well as maintaining six feet of separation from others and wearing an acceptable face covering.

"What we have done with this COVID virus is really an amazing accomplishment, and it was all done by the people of this state. They did it, 19 million people did what they never did before. They responded with a level of determination and discipline that I was amazed with frankly," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week. "Remember where we were: we had 800 people die in one day. We had the worst situation in the United States of America. At one point we had the worst situation on the globe. And now we're reopening in less than 50 days. We went from an internationally terrible situation to where we’re talking about reopening." 

To date, more than 105,000 U.S. residents have died during the past three months due to COVID-19. More than 38 million Americans have filed unemployment claims over the span of nine weeks. Whether the worst has passed or a so-called “second wave” returns - as some in the medical community have suggested – remains an unknown. 

“I’m delighted to see our retailers open again. And as we are getting caught up in our reopening details and stores are focusing on their safety plans - and we have riots going on and protests going on, It’s easy to lose track that there still is a virus present in our community,” cautioned Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton. 

In Saratoga County, there have been 495 confirmed cases of COVID-19 this year, 56 specifically being Saratoga Springs residents. Sixteen people have died, and 6 people are currently hospitalized.  Approximately 2,500 residents have been isolated or quarantined at some point. 

 “We all need to keep our eye on the ball here and realize there still is a virus present, it’s still in our community and we need to be really vigilant  as we continue these reopening phases, so we can get to phase three, so we can get to phase four and we can get back to some kind of normalcy,” Dalton said.    

Gov. Cuomo’s NY Pause order went into effect March 22, and the city of Saratoga Springs and the greater Capital District Region were cleared by the state to begin the phase 1 re-opening of the local economy beginning Wednesday, May 20. 

There are four reopening phases in all, and an up-to 14-day incubation period between phases to ensure that infection rates and hospitalizations are maintained at a manageable level. Phase Three – which includes indoor dining at restaurants, is currently slated for its reopening phase June 17; Phase Four, which focuses on Arts/ Entertainment / Recreation, and Education, including libraries, will potentially hit its reopening mark July 1. 

On May 28, Cuomo signed an Executive Order authorizing businesses the ability to deny entry to those who do not wear masks or face-coverings. "The store owner has a right to protect themselves (and) the other patrons in that store," he said.  A subsequent announcement states summer day camps statewide can open on June 29. A decision on sleep-away camps will be made in the coming weeks.

Malls - specifically any indoor common portions of retail shopping malls with 100,000 or more square feet of retail space available for lease, remain closed. However, stores located within shopping malls, which have their own external entrances open to the public, separate from the general mall entrance may open. 

Also remaining closed are: large gathering event and concert venues, gyms, fitness centers, Video lottery and casino gaming facilities, movie theaters - except drive-in theaters - and places of public amusement, such as amusement parks, water parks, children’s play centers, bowling alleys, and other locations where groups of people may gather. 

ALBANY — On Sunday, approximately 50,000 tests were conducted statewide regarding COVID-19 infections, with less than 1,000 people testing positive for the virus, and 54 reported deaths. 

"That is the lowest number we’ve had since this began," state Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. "The progress is just phenomenal."

Saratoga, Albany, Glens Falls and the surrounding communities are currently in "Phase One" of the reopening process, and an evaluation of infection rates is underway with the possibility of the region on Wednesday going to "Phase Two." 

"The Capital District region is moving to go into Phase 2 on Wednesday. All the numbers look good there. We’re going to run them by our local team to make sure they are as good as we think they are, but at this point the Capital Region is on track to go into Phase 2 on Wednesday," Cuomo said.

Phase 2 reopening includes hair salons and barber shops, in-store retail, real estate, offices and others. Distancing, mask guidelines and crowd limits remain in place. For details go HERE.

"What we have done with this COVID virus is really an amazing accomplishment, and it was all done by the people of this state. They did it, 19 million people did what they never did before. They responded with a level of determination and discipline that I was amazed with frankly," Cuomo said Monday. "Remember where we were: we had 800 people die in one day. We had the worst situation in the United States of America. At one point we had the worst situation on the globe. And now we're reopening in less than 50 days. We went from an internationally terrible situation to where we’re talking about reopening today."

The Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services today confirmed the death of one more county resident from COVID-19 — a 69-year-old male from Halfmoon. Updated statistics: