Malls Are Safe, Should Be Allowed To Reopen: Property Manager

GARDEN CITY, NY — Roosevelt Field Mall is the largest shopping mall in New York, and one of the largest in the country. And its owner, Simon Property Group, wants Gov. Andrew Cuomo to allow it to reopen in phase four, along with the rest of the malls it manages in the state.

Under the governor's plan, malls, gyms and theaters were supposed to reopen during phase four, which Long Island should enter in two weeks. However, it was recently announced that those businesses would not be able to reopen, and would stay closed indefinitely.

"We are shocked and disappointed that enclosed shopping malls will not be allowed to re-open in phase four," a Simon spokesperson said in a statement. "We have safely re-opened 186 properties across 38 states by implementing our rigorous safety protocols developed with world renowned epidemiologists and approved by state and local authorities. These protocols are even more rigorous and exceed the measures required for properties to re-open in phase four."

In addition to the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, Simon's New York properties also include the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, the Westchester in White Plains, the Shops at Nanuent in Nanuent, Waterloo Premium Outlets in Waterloo and Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley.

Simon Properties employ more than 15,700 people in New York, the company said, and contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in property and sales taxes each year.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has been a proponent of reopening malls, citing how much money they generate, which helps the economy and the county.

"Retailers and the people they employ have been devastated by three months of economic shutdown," Curran said in early June, before the announcement that malls wouldn't reopen. "By delaying the reopening of malls by an additional month, or perhaps even longer, I'm afraid that some may never reopen at all. And I shudder to think what the impact on our economy would be. And how would we bounce back from that?"

Simon said it was unfair that malls are forced to remain closed while big box retailers can open. According to Simon, its properties provide pedestrian spaces and high ceilings, with HVAC systems that refresh the air. Many big box retailers don't have that, the Simon spokesperson said.

"We agree with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran that malls provide an essential economic boost for local communities during a critical time in our history," the Simon spokesperson said. "Enclosed retail should be allowed to re-open in phase four with other retail establishments because they can do so in a responsible manner. Our communities and the livelihoods of our neighbors depend upon these properties being able to operate in the future. At this point that future is in great doubt and while they remain closed the risk that they do not ever re-open increases."