A majority of voters believe a fast reopening of New York's economy that could spread COVID-19 is a bigger danger than moving too slowly in loosening restrictions and prolonging the economic slump, a Siena College poll released Wednesday morning found. 

The poll also found Governor Andrew Cuomo's favorability ratings continue to be high, though voters have cooled somewhat on his handling of the pandemic, while a plurality gave him a negative rating for his handling of nursing homes during the crisis. 

The vast majority of voters support wearing a mask in public when six feet of social distancing cannot be maintained. And three out of four people polled expect there will be a similar outbreak in the fall. 

What You Need To Know


  • Most voters worry about a fast reopening jeopardizing health.

  • Gov. Cuomo's approval and favorability ratings are still, but they've slipped.

  • He is receiving lower marks for his handling of nursing homes.

  • Most New Yorkers support wearing a mask when social distancing can't be maintained.

The poll comes roughly two months after the coronavirus pandemic closed schools, shuttered non-essential businesses, kept millions of people at home and threw millions out of work. 

More than 20,000 people in the state have died since then due to the virus, with more than 5,000 residents in nursing homes either succumbing to COVID-19 or likely dying because of it. 

The state's employment rate stands at 14.5 percent and billions of dollars in aid from the federal government is being sought to bolster New York's finances to avoid deep cuts in school spending, health care and local governments. 

Against the backdrop of those twin challenges of health and economy, voters in New York are choosing health, the poll found. 

Sixty-five percent of voters worry that loosening the restrictions too quickly could lead to further spread of the virus and more lives lost, while 32 percent say the bigger danger is moving too slowly and further damaging the economy. 

Cuomo, whose daily briefings have been aired nationally on television to a largely captive audience, continues to enjoy high marks for his handling of the pandemic. 

Cuomo's favorability rating stands at 66 percent to 30 percent, a decline from a record high in April of 77 percent. His job performance rating has also tumbled from 71 percent to 28 percent in April, but remains strong at 63 percent to 36 percent. 

But there are also warning signs for how he has handled the crisis in nursing homes. The state since March 25 had required nursing homes to take COVID-19-positive patients. 

The order has been partially charged to bar hospitals from discharging COVID patients to nursing homes, but nursing homes are not allowed to turn away residents who have the virus. 

Forty-eight percent of voters give Cuomo a negative review for his handling of the nursing home situation, 44 percent give him a positive one, the poll found. 

“Cuomo’s stratospheric ratings from New Yorkers in April have fallen from their record highs but remain very strong as two-thirds of voters still view him favorably, nearly two-thirds give him a positive job performance rating and more than three-quarters still approve of the job he’s doing to address the pandemic,” Siena College pollster Steve Greenberg said. “While Republicans still approve of his handling of the pandemic 56-39 percent, small majorities of Republicans view him unfavorably and give him a negative job performance rating.” 

Cuomo, meanwhile, has urged New Yorkers to wear face masks in public when social distancing isn't possible.  A broad majority of voters, 89 percent to 9 percent, approve of doing so, little changed from the 92 percent to 8 percent margin from last month. 

The poll of 796 registered voters was conducted from May 17 to May 21. It has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points. 

The crosstabs to the poll can be found here.