NEW YORK SETS A DATE FOR LIVE MUSIC... WITH LIMITS

Concerts and theatrical events will be allowed to resume on 4/2 in New York, with significant limits on attendance.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that shows can play to 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, with all attendees masked and socially distanced. Limits are increased—150 indoors, 500 outdoors—if all attendees test negative before entering.

In New York City, pop-up performances are expected to take place next month in Broadway theaters and at the Apollo and flexible spaces such as St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and The Shed on Manhattan’s West Side.

Lincoln Center, which has already stated it would bring back outdoor programs this summer, plans to open 10 outdoor performance and rehearsal spaces on 4/7. (That's Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park in the photo).

But as music venues have been pointing out for almost a year, it doesn’t make economic sense to open the doors until capacity is at least 75%.

Michael Swier, the owner of the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, told The New York Times, “Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20% capacity, which is untenable.”

Broadway also expects that opening night will have to wait until fall.