A joint letter sent to Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul from state Assemblyman Andy Goodell and Sen. George Borrello looks to revise the state's regional reopening plan for Chautauqua County.

Hochul was recently selected to oversee the opening of the Western New York region as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

"I think we need to pivot from looking at things from a standpoint of being what is essential and non-essential to who can open safely, and allow those to do so," said Borrello, (R) Senate-Sunset Bay.

"We drafted this letter because we wanted to make sure the state was taking a more expansive view. The reopening should be more on a county basis within a region, particularity for low-risk businesses," said Goodell, (R) Assembly-Jamestown.

The two submitted a detailed business sector analysis to Hochul that calls for a level playing field and ensures compliance of state and federal safety protocols. 

They suggest in addition to manufacturing and construction, the state immediately open low-risk smaller companies, all retail stores, as well as low-density offices and businesses like hair salons.

"Wide areas of our economy that people don't travel to. And so to keep our economy on shutdown when we have virtually no active cases in the Southern half of this county is a horrific expense with very little benefit," said Goodell.

"You can go into a Home Depot or Wal-Mart with many people and buy things like plants and shrubs, but you have to make an appointment, if at all, to go to a local greenhouse. So, there's a tremendous amount of inconsistency and hypocrisy in the current plan," said Borrello.

The pair is also looking to revise two key parts of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 12-step reopening criteria checklist, like adjusting hospital rates to show they could also be stable for 14 days, and not just declining.

They also want contact tracing based on the infection rate and not population for smaller counties, suggesting only two contact tracers for every confirmed active local case.

“The standard the governor is setting is, once again, a one-size fits all standard. Not only is that unnecessary, it's also a burden and a financial burden that could ultimately fall on local government, which is already strained due to the economic shutdown. We need to apply common sense based on the data that we have," said Borrello.

"We had one increase in hospitalization, and only one person in the hospital. Our hospital capacity is almost 100% available, so we ought to be able to reopen," said Goodell.

Both are also calling for all religious services to resume as soon as possible, while other higher risk venues remain closed and phased-in over time.