In March 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive that significantly impacted businesses across the state in response to the escalating coronavirus pandemic. This order mandated that all non-essential businesses must close their physical locations or transition to a work-from-home model for their employees. This announcement left many business owners and residents questioning what constituted “essential” work and which services would remain accessible during these unprecedented times. For car owners, a crucial question emerged: will car repair garages close due to coronavirus?
To clarify the situation, Governor Cuomo’s directive aimed to reduce the spread of the virus by limiting social gatherings and workplace interactions. The order, which followed earlier mandates for businesses to decrease their in-person workforce, enforced a 100% workforce reduction for non-essential businesses starting Sunday, March 22nd, 2020, at 8 p.m. However, certain sectors deemed vital to public health, safety, and infrastructure were permitted to continue operations.
Car Repair Garages: An Essential Service
Fortunately for vehicle owners, automotive repair services were classified as essential businesses under New York State’s guidelines. This meant that car repair garages were allowed to remain open and operate, providing crucial services to the public even during the lockdown. The rationale behind this classification is clear: vehicles are essential for transportation, enabling people to access essential services themselves, and for essential workers to perform their duties.
The official list of essential businesses released by Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency, explicitly includes “Automotive repair” under the broader category of “Services”. This designation ensured that individuals needing car repairs or maintenance could still access these services, preventing potential vehicle breakdowns from further complicating an already challenging situation. Furthermore, the inclusion of “Garages and other transportation infrastructure” under “Infrastructure / Transportation” reinforces the essential nature of car repair and maintenance facilities in maintaining overall societal function.
Why Car Repair Services Remained Open
The decision to keep car repair garages open was a practical one, recognizing the critical role vehicles play in daily life and emergency situations. Consider the following reasons why these services were deemed essential:
- Essential Transportation: Many individuals rely on their cars for transportation to essential jobs, grocery stores, pharmacies, and healthcare facilities. Public transportation schedules were also reduced, making personal vehicles even more critical.
- Emergency Vehicles: First responders, healthcare workers, and other essential personnel depend on reliable vehicles to perform their duties. Car repair garages are necessary to maintain these vehicles and ensure they remain operational.
- Supply Chain Maintenance: The transportation of goods, including essential supplies, relies heavily on trucks and commercial vehicles. Garages are needed to repair and maintain these vehicles, ensuring the supply chain remains functional.
- Preventative Maintenance: Allowing garages to remain open also addressed the need for preventative maintenance. Ignoring car maintenance can lead to more significant problems down the road, potentially creating additional burdens during a crisis.
Safety Measures at Car Repair Garages
While car repair garages were permitted to stay open, they were also required to implement strict social distancing and safety measures to protect both employees and customers. These measures, in line with general guidelines for essential businesses, included:
- Social Distancing: Maintaining at least six feet of distance between individuals whenever possible.
- Hygiene Practices: Frequent hand washing, use of hand sanitizer, and regular cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, especially in customer areas.
- Reduced Contact Services: Many garages adopted contactless service options, such as online appointment scheduling, key drop-off and pick-up, and digital payment methods to minimize in-person interaction.
By adhering to these safety protocols, car repair garages could continue providing essential services while minimizing the risk of virus transmission.
Essential Business Categories: Key Excerpts
To provide further context, here are excerpts from the New York State’s list of essential businesses, highlighting categories relevant to transportation and vehicle maintenance:
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Infrastructure / Transportation:
- Utilities (power generation, fuel supply, transmission and more)
- Public water and wastewater
- Telecommunications and data centers
- Airports and airlines
- Commercial shipping vessels
- Ports and seaports
- Bus, rail, for-hire vehicles
- Garages and other transportation infrastructure
- Hotels and accommodations
-
Manufacturing:
- Food processing and manufacturing (food and beverage)
- Chemicals
- Medical equipment and instruments
- Pharmaceuticals
- Safety and sanitary products
- Personal care products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration
- Telecommunications
- Microelectronics and semiconductors
- Food-producing agriculture and farms
- Household paper products
- Defense industry
- Transportation infrastructure
- Automobiles
- Any parts or components necessary for essential products
-
Retail:
- Grocery stores (all food and beverage stores)
- Pharmacies
- Convenience stores
- Farmer’s markets
- Gas stations
- Restaurants and bars (take-out / delivery only)
- Food delivery services
- Hardware and building material stores
- Pet food
- Telecommunications to service existing customers and accounts
- Delivery for orders placed remotely at non-essential businesses
-
Services:
- Trash and recycling collection, processing and disposal
- Mail and shipping
- Laundromats and other clothing / fabric cleaning services
- Building cleaning and maintenance
- Maintenance for the infrastructure of the facility or to maintain or safeguard materials or products therein
- Child care
- Automotive repair
- Bicycle repair
- Remote vehicle sales, with in-person return and delivery (by appointment only)
- Warehouse (distribution and fulfillment)
- Funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries
- Storage (for essential businesses)
- Animal shelters and care
- Landscaping for maintenance and pest control
- Marine vessel repair and marinas, but only to support governmental and commercial operations
- Designing, printing, publishing and signage companies to the extent they support essential businesses or services
Conclusion: Car Garages Remained Open to Serve
In conclusion, despite the widespread closures of non-essential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, car repair garages in New York State were classified as essential and permitted to remain operational. This decision acknowledged the vital role of vehicles in transportation, emergency services, and the overall functioning of society. While operating under safety guidelines, these garages continued to provide necessary maintenance and repair services, ensuring that car owners could keep their vehicles running reliably during a critical time. For anyone wondering “will car repair garages close due to coronavirus?”, the answer, in New York and many other regions recognizing automotive repair as essential, was thankfully no.
