Today I visited our beloved Manhattan Community Squash Center for the first time since COVID closed our doors. It was awesome! So much better to see Cleve in person rather than through a video window. As we did before we opened, Cleve and I took a short video of what the place looks like and what we’re doing…
The big news is that Phase Two is now and so in four weeks – if all goes according to plan, Phase Four will happen in NYC and we’ll be allowed to open again. That’s the end of July. We cannot wait! We will be making a few changes between now and then:
- Hygiene: We’ll clean the courts between each session – this means there will be slightly fewer court times so that we have time to get on court to clean. And of course there will be lots of hand washing and social distancing. We’ll also be limiting the total number of people allowed into the center at any point in time. The elevators are small, so if there’s someone you don’t know who wants to take it with you, feel free to take the stairs – it’s an excellent way to warm up while social distancing!
- Screening: We’ll have a temperature gun at the entrance – please don’t come to the center if you’re sick! We’ll also have a temporary screen built between our staff at the front desk and everyone who enters in order to keep distance between us all.
- Air flow and ventilation: This is probably the most important and radical part of what we’re up to. We are upgrading the air filters, installing an ultra-violet light to disinfect incoming air, and most importantly, removing a couple of windows to increase air-flow. This will mean that all the air in the center will turn over 100% every 30 mins and we have 700% more air per person than is recommended for a gym. We’re lucky because we’re on the 5th floor and can increase the flow by creating more openings. If we were stuck in the basement we could ont
- Programming: John and Cleve will be announcing some innovating programming so that we can play squash and keep social distancing.
It’s super exciting to see the end approaching. Stay tuned – we’ll give you weekly updates between now and opening. Hopefully that only means three more emails. Until then, I know you aren’t boasting, but you can start to think about keeping it deep.