By Christine Graf
Although it is too soon to know what impact the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the local summer tourism season, the local business community is trying to remain optimistic.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” said Kevin Tuohy, general manager of the 168-room Holiday Inn on Broadway in Saratoga Springs. “Although each time I read the news, it seems there is less good news coming out. But, at this point, we are going to do everything we can to make sure that we can be as busy as we can possibly be.”
Tuohy keeps abreast of information that comes from a variety of sources, including the governor’s office, the chambers of commerce, and Discover Saratoga. He is a board member of Discover Saratoga, and they are providing regular COVID-19 updates at www.discoversaratoga.org.
WellNow’s Clifton Park Office Is One Of Four Offering COVID-19 Tests, Seven Days A Week
The first publicly announced coronavirus antibody testing that’s open to the general public is coming to the Capital Region.
COVID-19 molecular and antibody testing is available at all WellNow locations, seven days a week, with no appointment needed, the company said.
The locations are:
• 438 Western Ave., Albany.
• 445 Balltown Road, Schenectady.
• 1694 Route 9, Clifton Park.
• 446 N. Farview Ave., Suite 200, Hudson.
Facilities are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Tests will be administered to those who display symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19, the company said.
Results will return in three to five days. Patients in New York can get results by registering for an account at www.mybostonheart.com.
‘Sundaes Best’ Gives Sweet Salute To Area First Responders And Healthcare Workers
Courtesy Sundaes Best
By Jennifer Farnsworth
Since the beginning of the “NY on Pause” shutdown brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Katie Camarro, owner of Sundaes Best Hot Fudge Sauce, started thinking about what she could do to help.
At first, she provided gift baskets to first responders which, she said, served as a pick-me-up that reminded them that they are recognized for all they are doing.
Soon after, Camarro decided to reach out to her community’s healthcare workers. Sundaes Best donated chocolate to medical staff at the Wilton Medical Arts and Urgent Care, as a way to honor those who work on the front lines, facing the challenges of the virus outbreak.
“We simply thought it would be a nice thing to do, and it was so well received by the staff,” said Camarro.
Next, Camarro plans to deliver Chocolate Farmer dip and pretzels to each hospital department, with the help of her husband and co-owner Jeff Shinaman.
The two have had to adjust the business after realizing that they would not be able to market the product in venues that would normally bring in revenue. Camarro said she is thankful for her wholesale business.
During COVID-19 Crisis, Local Company Disinfects Firehouses, Police Stations For Free
Courtesy KPM
By Rachel Phillips
In an effort to help first responders who daily put themselves at risk during the coronavirus pandemic, a local restoration company is disinfecting area firehouses and police stations free of cost.
Kennedy Property Management (KPM) restoration is primarily a water damage company, but when the pandemic hit Saratoga County owner James Kennedy decided to expand services to help the community.
The company sends cleaners each week to perform the services. After wiping down each surface using industrial strength, CDC-approved disinfectants, they use an aerosol fog machine loaded with another sanitizing solution. According to Kennedy, he is deploying OSHA-certified technicians, who are trained specifically to deal with hazardous conditions.
Saratoga Saddlery To Operate Out Of New Broadway Space When Businesses Re-Open
By Jennifer Farnsworth
Saratoga Saddlery and International Boutique closed its shop at 506 Broadway in Saratoga Springs will operate, when businesses are allowed to re-open in New York state, at 392 Broadway.
“We loved where we were. It was a beautiful store, but this is a spot with much better foot traffic. We are very happy with it,” said owner Sabine Rodgers.
The current state regulations have forced her to close her “new” doors, so Rodgers has turned her focus to online orders. She said the first two weeks after the shutdown were devastating.
“For two straight weeks we had no orders, nothing. Now we have started to receive some business, but not what we are used to,” she said.
Rodgers acknowledges this is a challenging time to keep any small business open, including her own where she has had to layoff 12 employees. She said she wants to get them back to work as soon as possible.
“I worry about them. I want to get them back. As soon as I get the green light I am hoping to be able to,” said Rodgers.
Business Report: COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan
By Todd Shimkus
It seems kind of ominous now. But on Friday, March 13, the leaders of the Saratoga County Economic Development Corp., Discover Saratoga, the Saratoga City Center, Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, the Downtown Business Association and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce all met at Wheatfield’s, in downtown Saratoga Springs.
It was clear on that Friday that the world was about to change. Gov. Cuomo was starting to shut things down to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The six of us gathered at this meeting decided that from this point forward that we would work collaboratively to do whatever it took to protect Saratoga County’s economy and to help local employers through the crisis.
Since that time, we’ve communicated relentlessly among ourselves and with everyone in our database. We decided that it didn’t matter if an employer was a member, an investor, or not. We were going to help every business and nonprofit in Saratoga County. We would help as many organizations as we could and hope than when times were better that they’d help us too.
GCAR: Listings, Home Sales Dropped In Saratoga In March; Median Prices Rose
As COVID-19’s impact spread across the U.S. in March, the stock market declines hit investors hard, recovering only slightly in the final week of the month,a press release from the association reported, noting that massive layoffs also shook the economy with 3.28 million initial jobless claims filed in a single week—the highest in history more than four times over.
Real estate followed suit, hitting the Capital Region’s market hard as real estate professionals chartered a “new normal” to accommodate buyers and sellers through virtual listing, showing and closing processes, according to a report from the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.
Business Report: Post-COVID-19 Return To Work Plan
By Dorothy Rogers-Bullis
As New York state begins to look toward a post-COVID-19 reopening strategy, many businesses, organizations, and schools are trying to reinvent or re-imagine how they will safely operate. And it won’t be business as usual for most.
Each individual organization will need a thoughtful and highly customized approach, taking into account their business objectives, their space, and their employees’ work styles, while also creating appropriate social distance.
Here are some of our top tips for organizations as they explore their reopening options.
Create a committee. It’s going to take buy-in from numerous people in order to approve and implement a workable reopening plan. Your return-to-work steering committee should include leaders from HR, communications, and facilities, plus employee representatives. You’ll need their help with brainstorming ideas and managing expectations, as well as modeling positive behaviors.
Saratoga Jazz Festival, SPAC Officials Cancel 2020 Event, Annually A Top Tourist Draw
R.J. DeLuke
Saratoga Performing Arts Center has canceled the 2020 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was made to ensure the health and safety of the artists, ticket buyers, and the community, officials said. The two-day event, originally scheduled for June 27-28, was to present a rich roster of artists including Eliane Elias, Tiempo Libre, Kurt Elling, the Brubeck Brothers, Cassandra Wilson and Taj Mahal.
“The cancellation of the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is heartbreaking to us, the artists, the production crew and our dedicated audience but within the larger context of what we are dealing with personally, nationally and globally, is something we can ‘manage,’” said Danny Melnick, the festival producer and president of Absolutely Live Entertainment. “This festival began in 1978 and has been the longest continuously running jazz festival in the northeastern part of North America. We are working to create an online festival experience and looking forward to returning to ‘the Hang’ in 2021.”
Albany Med Is Among First Hospitals To Use Plasma, Experimentally, To Treat Patients
Albany Med is among the first hospitals in the country to obtain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to use convalescent blood plasma therapy to experimentally treat critically ill patients who are infected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Convalescent plasma therapy—or plasma from a survivor of an infectious disease—was the same treatment used during the 1918 flu pandemic.
When fighting illness, the body produces antibodies—proteins that counteract a pathogen. Antibodies remain in plasma for weeks or months after recovery. The antibodies in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 attack the virus and can potentially be useful as a treatment for the virus, Albany Med officials said.