Urban Air Lake Grove Given Green Light To Reopen

LAKE GROVE, NY — Urban Air Lake Grove, an indoor adventure park, is slated to reopen March 26. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced indoor family entertainment centers could reopen as soon as then after the coronavirus forced their temporary closure throughout most of 2020.

"We thank the Governor and his team for recognizing that we can reopen indoor family entertainment in a safe and responsible way, for the benefit of our communities, our businesses and our employees," David Wolmetz, owner of Urban Air Lake Grove, said in a statement. "We look forward to welcoming our guests back into our park on March 26 and continuing the practices that provide a safe and healthy environment to have fun."

Indoor entertainment centers will be allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity as long as certain health and safety guidelines are met: face coverings, social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting, as well as temperature checks, Cuomo said. Rides and attractions that can not ensure social distancing will have to remain closed.

Quarter capacity at Urban Air Lake Grove is 223 people.

Urban Air Lake Grove opened in November 2019 at 3147 Middle Country Road. The 40,000-square-foot center employed more than 150 full-time and part-time team members and features trampolines, an obstacle course, bumper cars, a slam dunk trampoline station, cafe and more.

The entertainment park reopened in Nov. 2020 for five weeks, operating at 25 percent capacity and enforcing temperature checks, face coverings and hourly cleanings of all surfaces. However, it was ordered closed again by the Suffolk County Department of Labor, Licensing, and Consumer Affairs despite there being no complaints filed for any violations, according to Urban Air.

The facility joined dozens of other family entertainment centers across New York in a lawsuit against Cuomo, filed Feb. 4 by James G. Mermigis, the plaintiffs' attorney. The lawsuit argued Cuomo's inconsistency in allowing certain indoor businesses to reopen while others remained close due to the COVID-19 shutdown that began in March 2020. The suit also sought immediate relief and the allowance of indoor entertainment centers to reopen under the same coronavirus guidelines as other industries.

In his Wednesday address, Cuomo also announced outdoor amusement parks will be able to reopen on April 9 at 33 percent capacity, and outdoor summer camps could reopen in June as long as the coronavirus positivity rate stays down.

Also, gyms, fitness centers, casinos, and billiard halls can now also join restaurants and bars in staying open until 11 p.m., Cuomo said.