TOWN OF WALLKILL – The owners of Villa Venezia and West Hills Country Club, both in the Town of Wallkill, rallied with local government officials urging the governor to allow them to resume offering catered events at their facilities that were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.
Villa Venezia, where a news conference was held on Wednesday, is in “limbo” because phase four reopening of the economy does not include those wedding venues, noted Franco Fidanza, owner of the Fidanza Family Properties business.
Joseph Bonura, Jr., whose family owns West Hills and three other wedding venues in New Windsor and Poughkeepsie, said his facilities alone had 660 weddings booked and roughly half rescheduled for next year and the others were cancelled.
Michael Bonura, Joseph’s brother, said his family has lost $7.5 million in business due to the pandemic.
Fidanza noted that New Jersey has allowed their catering halls to reopen and all anyone from Orange County need to is travel a half hour across state lines to hold weddings there.
Joseph Bonura said his family has submitted detailed plans on how to reopen for weddings including hosting no more than 150 guests per event, wearing masks except when sitting down to eat, and dancing only with a family member or romantic partner in a circle painted on the dance floor six feet apart from the next couple’s circle. And yes, dancers would have to wear masks as well and do their Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers routines for no more than 10 minutes at a time to minimize the potential of spreading any viral germs.
Joseph Bonura said they have yet to hear back from the state with their lengthy proposal.
People are in love and want to get married so they are opting for other means, whether they are at home or other family locations, he said.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus and Wallkill Town Supervisor Frank DanDento III also lent their support to the reopening of the catering halls.
