CAPE MAY – On May 8, Legislators gathered outside a Middle Township brewery to demand immediate action from Gov. Phil Murphy on a timeline to reopen the Cape May County economy.
Sen. Michael Testa, joined by Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen, argued that if small businesses do not reopen soon many may close for good (see related story). The Republican lawmakers represent Cape May, Cumberland and part of Atlantic County.
Not everyone in the county agrees. A Cape May resident’s recent letter to Murphy asks the governor to slow the process, not accelerate it. The proposal from Bob Dreyfuss flies in the face of the assertions made by the Legislators.
Working with Terri Amig of Court House, he wrote: “While we understand that keeping businesses closed to anything like the usual volume of summer vacationers is a hardship for those businesses, we ask that you do not make an exception for Cape May County to the overall state policy of gradual, step-by-step opening according to what’s best for the health and safety of New Jersey’s population.”
It is gaining attention.
After Dreyfuss posted the letter to social media, 79 people put their names down in agreement before it was sent to Murphy.
“I was talking to some friends, and it just occurred to us, there is a push to reopen both the county and Cape May City and I don’t know what it’s based on,” Dreyfuss said in a recent interview.
Cape May city manager Jerome Inderwies Jr. recently announced that hotels, motels and other short-term accommodations would reopen as of June 1.
“As far as I know, he didn’t talk to anybody in the city about whether this is a good idea or not,” Dreyfuss said. Dreyfuss will be 72 this year, and said most of the city residents are old enough to be in a high-risk demographic for COVID-19.
“I don’ know what the right thing is to do. I don’t know how fast or how slowly we can open. I believe the governor has better information,” he said.
Even as the rate of infection appears to be leveling off in the hardest-hit areas of New Jersey, cases continue to climb in Cape May County, as Dreyfuss pointed out. See related front-page and online coverage with the latest figures and graphs which do show an increase in certain areas.
“So far, Cape May County has been fortunate to have a relatively small number of Covid-19 cases and deaths compared to other parts of the state and to New York City. However, that is likely to change for the worse if and when there is a large influx of visitors to Cape May’s beaches and boardwalks. As your administration has pointed out, the shore communities do not have the health facilities to care for a large number of sick people,” reads the letter.
Dreyfuss said he is sympathetic to the economic needs of the area, saying business owners and employees would be hit hard if most businesses remain closed through the summer in an area dependent on tourism.
“I totally understand the pressures that a tourism-based economy feels when it’s facing a disastrous summer season. But I want to know that when we reopen that this is based on some scientific data,” Dreyfuss said. “There’s got to be some data-driven solution to this, not just ‘we know our town better than anyone else.’”
He wants more information released on the county’s criteria for reopening businesses, citing the dangers of inviting large numbers of people from out of the area.
At the Friday event, Testa argued that business owners would follow safety guidelines and protect their customers, but the event focused on economic need and the contrast between large retailers that could allow customers inside and small businesses that could not.
Freeholder Will Morey, who has helped lead Cape May County’s planning for a phased reopening, said data and health protections will be essential as Cape May County businesses reopen.
“I feel like there’s been a lot of focus on the health aspects in our planning,” Morey said. The county health department and Cape Regional Medical Center have been integral to the planning process, he said, and the county is working to expand testing.
Morey acknowledged the additional risks for some residents.
“The vulnerable population has to do what is best for themselves,” he said. Social distancing protocols are an important tool, but he said there is no reason to believe COIVD-19 will go away soon, so plans must be made to live and function safely compared to having sheltering in place as the sole strategy.
“We’re all trying to deal with the facts and with reality,” Morey said.
Dreyfuss brought his letter to the social media pages of Indivisible, a left-leaning organization, and another group that came together as part of the national Women’s March after the election of President Donald Trump. In both cases it received a warm welcome.
Testa, a Republican, was sharply critical of the state’s Democratic governor at the Friday event. He drew applause when he said the governor overstepped his constitutional powers with his emergency declarations.
In an interview, Dreyfuss said he believes if the reopening were put to a vote, most year-round residents of the county would opt for a slower approach. But he argued that the matter should be based on science, not polling.
“It should be based on the best models that scientists and health experts can create. Then you have to balance that against the economic costs of keeping an area shut down,” he said.
Still, he accused Trump of calculating that his reelection depends on a strong economy and putting people at risk to achieve that.
“I would say the president has made this political,” he said. “He’s taking something that shouldn’t be political and turning it into a Tea Party kind of revolt. I don’t see most Republicans and most Democrats making this political.”
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
Dennisville – As a parent of a Tech student it would be great if the school would update their staff directory. So many old staff still listed and no new teachers listed. What gives?
