Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that bowling alleys in New York state will be permitted to reopen at 50% capacity beginning on Monday, August 17th.
Alas the announcement has come too late for some establishments but will be a welcome relief to others that remain. Bowling alley owners had been bringing pressure to bear upon Cuomo to reopen as lanes had been reopened in neighboring Connecticut in mid-June and in New Jersey at the beginning of July.
When Cuomo made the announcement it had been exactly four months since I had last gone bowling. At this point, I'm not sure when I'm going back. First of all, while alleys can reopen Monday not all of them will be ready to open. The nearest alley to me is Bowlmor in Times Square and unless they are planning to sell discount memberships it would be too expensive proposition although perhaps I could bowl there on my birthday next month (as I did a year ago). Prior to the beginning of the pandemic, I did sign up for a bowling league at Lucky Strike a few blocks west of Times Square. I'm not sure what the status of that situation is but perhaps this will remain an option.
More likely than not if I am to bowl it will probably be in Queens where I had been doing most of my bowling anyway particularly at Bowlero Queens where I had been involved in the Lousy Bowlers Club on Wednesday evenings from mid-January until all hell broke loose in mid-March. But I'm not sure what the status of the league is at this point and since it is part of the Bowlmor chain it would not be cheap unless I'm in a league.
There are other options in Queens (i.e. Astoria Bowl, Bowl 360 in Ozone Park and Whitestone Lanes in Flushing). However, most of those involve a long subway/bus ride. Despite all measures put forward by the MTA, I'm not sure if I'm prepared to use public transportation at this point unless it is for a job interview. Indeed, the only time I've used public transportation since March was when I took the F train for a job interview in the Jamaica section of Queens nearly a month ago.
Alas I don't think I will be bowling in Brooklyn anytime soon. Although Shell Lanes was a long journey on the F train, it was just down the street from the Avenue X stop and was the least expensive bowling in the city. Sadly, it has closed due to reasons entirely unrelated to COVID-19. One of my former colleagues texted me a picture of Melody Lanes. I haven't bowled there, but that's because it costs $45-55 an hour to bowl to do so. The Gutter is less expensive, but I'd just as soon not bowl in a biker bar again.
I have bowled at Van Nest Lanes in The Bronx on a couple of occasions and enjoyed my time in the retro establishment. But once again I'm not sure if I'm ready to spend an extended amount of time on the subway and a bus just yet. I've never set foot on Staten Island and do not plan to save for a job interview.
While I am delighted to hear that bowling alleys in New York will be reopening and reopen responsibly, I don't think I will take advantage of this just yet. Good things come to those who wait and I can wait a little bit longer. I can roll with it.
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