Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I-Black River), Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C,I,Ref-Pulaski), Sen. Patty Ritchie (R,C,I), Assemblyman Mark Walczyk (R,C,I,Ref-Watertown) and Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence county Board of Legislators Chairs sent a letter to the governor today calling on him to separate upstate New York from New York City when it comes to standards for reopening the economy. As the state takes steps to reopen, it’s critical that regional differences are taken into account. The region Blankenbush and Ritchie represent – which includes Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties and has a total population of just over 361,000 people—has had just 210 cases of COVID-19, while New York City has had 213,779 cases.

“Placing the same restrictions on the North Country and Mohawk Valley as New York City is absolutely ridiculous. These regions couldn’t be more different from each other,” said Blankenbush. “I commend the governor for his leadership at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the truth is, upstate has experienced far fewer cases than downstate. If the governor continues to place the same thresholds on these vastly different regions of the state, it’s only going to devastate our already-struggling economy.”