***UPCOMING WEBINAR***
Tomorrow, 1PM: The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce will host a webinar that will provide the latest guidance for PPP Forgiveness. Panelists will be Myriam Bouchard from the Small Business Development Center, Phil Bronzi from Rhinebeck Bank and Jason Giordano from JGS, CPAs. Thank you to LCS Companies, Mobile Life Support Services, and The Poughkeepsie Galleria for sponsoring. You can register HERE .

Tuesday, May 19 at 1PM: Dutchess Tourism presents a FREE Virtual Lunch & Learn Webinar: "A Guide To Practicing Customer Appreciation As We Prepare To Reconnect" presented by Dawn Hopper, Director of Tour & Travel. With things changing so quickly, it’s more important than ever to explore new ways to practice gratitude and customer appreciation. Learn how to use this as a tool to reconnect, reassure, and retain your customers as we move toward re-opening. Reserve your spot  HERE .
Update for Thursday, May 14, 2020
  • Phase-1 reopening businesses required to fill out a state provided form for affirmation of safety guidelines before reopening. The guidelines are broken out by industry and can be found HERE. On that same page, business safety plan templates are provided. These plans do not need to be submitted to the state, but must be posted on premises and available for inspection by state and local officials.

  • Essential businesses must also complete the affirmation and create a business safety plan, but no forms are available from the state yet. Once the forms are available, we will publish them in this email.

  • An FAQ page has been released by Empire State Development regarding the reopening plans. That page can be found HERE.

  • OSHA has released guidance for ride-share, taxi, and car service workers. That guidance can be found HERE. OSHA guidance for nursing home and long-term care facility workers can be found HERE. They have also released guidance for retail pharmacies, which can be found HERE.

  • In today’s (Thursday) press conference Governor Andrew Cuomo said the Central New York Region has met the requirements to reopen beginning tomorrow.

  • Governor Cuomo also stated that any business looking to begin or expand production of PPE will be able to get financial assistance from the state. To learn more information on this program, go HERE.

  • Cuomo said the state would rely on possible Federal legislation to provide liability immunity to businesses who are reopening. He is currently not looking at having the state provide immunity through an Executive Order.

  • Dutchess Farmers Markets are now open, for the full list, click HERE.
To get updates as they come in and are verified, be sure to join our Facebook Group by searching "Dutchess Business Notification Network", or by clicking HERE .

To view our website and see previous emails, important documents, and other resources available, click HERE .
If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email [email protected]. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.
Resources With Links
United States Small Business Administration
EIDL For Agriculture Application: https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/
Federal Representatives
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney: (845) 561-1259
Congressman Antonio Delgado: (845) 443-2930
Centers For Disease Control

Novel Coronavirus Hotline (24/7): 1-888-364-3065
New York State Government


NY Forward Reopening Information: https://forward.ny.gov/
State Representatives
Senator Pete Harckham: (914) 241-4600
Senator Sue Serino: (845) 229-0106
Assembly Member Didi Barrett: (845) 454-1703
Assembly Member Kevin Cahill: (845) 338-9601
Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson: (845) 562-0888
Assembly Member Kieran Lalor: (845) 221-2202
New York State Department of Labor
Dutchess County Government


Dutchess County Mental Health Hotline (24/7): (877) 485-9700
Dutchess Tourism
For updates on major attractions, lodging, and restaurants (including a list of restaurants and farms open for takeout, curbside & delivery) click  here , for important information and updates (including a resource guide for County tourism-related businesses) click  here .
Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce
Business News Portal: https://www.dcrcoc.org/news
Dutchess County Workforce Investment Board
Dutchess Business Notification Network
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Dutchess Business Notification Network | [email protected]