Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many have been wondering about the status of the New York State Fair, and whether or not it would take place. Although New York is seeing record low numbers for the virus, Gov. Cuomo made a comment today during his press phone call regarding the status.

“Right now, we’re not in a position to go ahead, and just so you know on the State Fair, look, it breaks my heart, as you know, I’ve spent a lot of personal time. And the State has done really great work there. The renovations that we did at first, the new construction we did, the new convention area meeting hall. And we’ve had record attendance every year for the past four years or so. And it’s just such a beautiful occasion, I mean, I love it and everybody, literally over a million people love it every year,” Cuomo said. “Right now, we can’t say that it’s going to open, but it’s something that I’m watching very closely. If there’s any possible way to open it safely, I would, but we’re not there yet.”

Cuomo said the state is working with Fair officials on the deadline for when to communicate the final decision to the vendors. Earlier this month, the contracts for the vendors were extended to July 15th. 

At the end of April, Cuomo said opening the fair "would not be good," adding it could attract visitors from all over the state. At that time, Cuomo said the entire state would need to be opened before the fair could happen.

The fair is currently scheduled to run from Aug. 21 to Sept. 7, the first year extending the length of the event to 18 days.



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