Rockaway Townsquare Reopens With Community Support Program

ROCKAWAY, NJ - The Rockaway Townsquare Mall reopened its doors to customers on Monday, but the shopping experience will not be what you remembered.

As part of the reopening process, the property published its comprehensive COVID-19 Exposure Control Policy, developed in conjunction with a team of leading experts in the fields of Epidemiology and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), in order to deliver an elevated set of safety standards at the property, officials said.

"The health, safety and well-being of the community we serve will always be our highest priority, and we have developed a thorough and detailed set of protocols highlighting the exceptional measures we’ve implemented for shoppers, retailers and employees as we reopen,” said Erica Bennington, General Manager at Rockaway Townsquare. “We also recognize that individuals and families in our community are suffering significant hardship as a result of both COVID-19 and the economic shutdown, and we believe that reopening our property will not only help people get back to work during these challenging times, but also enable us to use our property to further support charitable initiatives."

According to officials, Rockaway Townsquare’s enhanced safety protocols have been communicated to all tenants, who are expected to adhere to the same rigorous policies in their tenant spaces. Additionally, the property has joined forces with local non-profits to support initiatives aimed at assisting those in the community experiencing hardship as a result of COVID-19.

Health & Safety

The property management team rigorously analyzed all aspects of the shopping experience and designed a complete set of safety protocols encompassing the following areas:

• Enhanced sanitization and disinfecting using the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) approved products with an emphasis on high-traffic locations such as dining areas, restrooms, escalators, stairs, directories, trash bins and door knobs.
• Shopper safeguards that include making available protective masks, sanitizing wipes and temperature testing at entrances or property offices, as well as the encouragement of pre-visit health screenings to ensure shoppers stay home if they have exhibited COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms within 72 hours.
• Hand sanitizing stations will be deployed throughout the property.
• Signage promoting CDC guidelines for maintaining personal hygiene will be prominently displayed throughout the property.
• Pre-emptive employee health screening to ensure that employees do not arrive at work within 72 hours of exhibiting COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms.
• Employee safety protections including implementing the CDC’s COVID-19 frequent hand-washing protocols, and offering personal protective equipment in addition to other CDC recommended practices.
• Promotion and enforcement of social distancing practices, including occupancy limitations, furniture and restroom spacing, closure of play areas and strollers, as well as coordinated traffic flow with traffic signage and distance markers.

Rockaway Townsquare closed on March 19 in order to address the spread of COVID-19. Reopening provides a much-needed economic boost to the local community impacted by COVID-19, officials said noting that Rockaway Townsquare provides more than 2,500 jobs and contributing $16.4 million of sales tax and $6.4 million in property tax revenue to the state.

“Our property is an integral part of our community not only in terms of shopping, dining and entertainment, but also job creation, small business growth and community support. We look forward to once again serving the needs of our community, and doing so in a safe and responsible manner,” Bennington said.

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