New Jersey Reopenings: What To Expect In Ridgewood, Glen Rock

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — As parts of the nation grapple with a new surge in coronavirus cases, the State of New Jersey steadily continues its reopening plan.

Municipalities across the state, including Ridgewood and Glen Rock, will be faced with more reopening decisions, and local businesses will be tasked with how to safely do so.

In some cases, that means not reopening at all.

Glen Rock determined this week that opening pools — allowed by the state as of June 22 — wouldn't be in the best interest of the town, potential employees or pool goers.

Alternatively, Ridgewood has decided to open Graydon Pool for the summer beginning on Monday. COVID-19 protocols will be in place, however, so the pool experience will be different from years past.

Read more: Glen Rock Will Not Open Municipal Pool This Summer

Read more: What You Need To Know About Ridgewood's Graydon Pool Opening

More decisions will be made starting Monday, as indoor shopping malls can open. Even more businesses can reopen or resume activities, albeit to varying degrees. Indoor dining at restaurants can resume, casinos can reopen, and a variety of other businesses can open with a 25 percent capacity.

Ridgewood has created a weekend open air pedestrian mall by closing some downtown streets to driving and parking, allowing restaurants to operate in that space. According to Mayor Ramon Hache, that will continually until the restaurants can begin full service without restrictions.

Hache said the outdoor dining space will help the restaurants make up for what they'll lose in indoor dining space. As of Thursday, restaurants must limit their indoor capacity to 25 percent.

Read more: Ridgewood Rethinks Downtown Space As Restaurants Begin Service

Like in Ridgewood, Glen Rock's Looking Forward Committee will continue with their Restart Glen Rock initiative, adding new businesses as they are allowed to reopen, according to an email from committee co-chair Mary Barchetto.

Gyms can begin opening for individualized training on Thursday, but New York Sports Club, which has a location in Ridgewood, has yet to offer further guidance through their website as of Saturday afternoon. The company put a freeze on memberships during the pandemic, while facilities have been closed.

These are all the reopenings slated for next week:

  • Indoor malls will reopen on June 29th

  • In-person clinical labs and hands-on programming at colleges will be allowed to resume on July 1

  • Career and training schools can reopen on July 1st

  • Playgrounds will reopen on July 2nd

  • Amusement parks will reopen on July 2nd

  • Water parks will reopen on July 2nd

  • Indoor dining will be allowed to resume on July 2nd at 25 percent

  • Casinos will be allowed to reopen on July 2nd

  • Racetracks may also reopen for in-person bets on July 2nd

  • Indoor capacity at catering halls will also resume on July 2nd

  • Museums will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd

  • Aquariums will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd

  • Bowling alleys will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd

  • Shooting ranges will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd

  • Arcades will reopen at 25 percent of capacity on July 2nd

  • Libraries will reopen on July 2nd

  • Gym and fitness centers will be allowed to open only for individualized training, and by appointment, involving one person and/or your family on July 2nd

  • The limit on outdoor gatherings will rise to 500 on July 3rd

In-person services for driver’s license renewals and other Motor Vehicle Commission responsibilities were also scheduled to reopen this week, but were delayed on Friday.

MVC Chief Administrator Sue Fulton said the MVC intended to rely on its new text notification system to check people in, then allow them to leave the building and go elsewhere.

"Unfortunately, this new system requires further testing, so we will not be able to open as fully as we anticipated on June 29," she said." Without the text notification system, the number of people waiting for transactions who will need to be on site will far exceed capacity limitations.”

The Meadowlands has not yet released an update regarding the start of in-person betting on Thursday, but has resumed racing as of June 1.

Paramus Park will open for indoor shopping beginning Monday, according to Brookfield Properties, who owns the Paramus Mall, in addition to Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, Woodbridge Center and Monmouth Mall in Eatontown.

Read more: Paramus Park Announces Monday Reopening

This article originally appeared on the Ridgewood-Glen Rock Patch