Gov. Phil Murphy

July 6, 2022

Hudson River rail tunnel project moves forward as NJ, NY reach agreement

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York and Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey announced Tuesday that they've agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding that they would split the local portion of the cost of the long-stalled Gateway Project's Hudson River tunnels, the New York Times reports. The agreement on who would pay the $14 billion tab for the project's first phase is a step ahead in one of the nation's most ambitious infrastructure plans.
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March 10, 2021

Indoor dining capacity in NYC can increase to 50% on March 19

Restaurants in New York City will soon be able to serve more customers inside. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced capacity can increase from the current 35 percent to 50 percent starting March 19. The announcement comes about a month after indoor dining returned in the city following a two-month closure starting in December.
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February 3, 2021

NJ loosens COVID-19 restrictions on indoor gatherings, lifts restaurant curfew

Starting Friday, New Jersey restaurants and bars can serve more customers and stay open later. Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed an executive order relaxing some coronavirus restrictions for indoor gatherings, pointing to a decrease in new daily cases and hospitalizations across the state. Under the order, which goes into effect ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, indoor dining capacity can increase from 25 percent to 35 percent and the 10 p.m. curfew at restaurants will be lifted.
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November 9, 2020

New Jersey adds new COVID restrictions as infection rate climbs

With infection rates throughout the Garden State continuing to climb, Governor Phil Murphy has been hinting for the past week at new restrictions, and today they came. Aside from prohibiting all indoor interstate games for youth and high school sports, the rules focus on indoor dining, including stopping restaurants, bars, and casinos from serving food or drink between 10pm and 5am and prohibiting barside seating. Murphy's announcement came as New Jersey saw its fifth-straight day of 2,000+ cases, with 3,207 cases reported on Saturday, the highest since the height of the pandemic on April 27.
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October 29, 2020

Face masks, health screenings now required at all NJ workplaces

As New Jersey continues to see an uptick in coronavirus cases across the state, Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday mandated new health and safety rules for all workplaces. Starting November 5, workers at private and public sector companies must wear face masks, maintain at least six feet from one another, and undergo daily health screenings. Murphy's executive order comes as the state continues to fight against the spread of COVID-19. Last Saturday, nearly 2,000 new cases were reported statewide, the most recorded since May.
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October 26, 2020

Newark rolls back reopening after resurgence of COVID-19 cases

Starting Tuesday, New Jersey's largest city will implement new coronavirus restrictions after reporting an uptick in coronavirus cases. Non-essential businesses and indoor dining will now have to close at 8 p.m. and beauty salons and barbershops will be appointment-only, Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced on Monday. The new measures come as Newark reported a test positivity rate of 11.2 percent over three days, compared to New Jersey's statewide rate of 5.28 percent.
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August 31, 2020

New Jersey will open indoor dining and movie theaters for Labor Day weekend

Much like his decision to open beaches ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey will allow indoor dining to resume across his state this Friday, just ahead of Labor Day weekend. In a Tweet this morning, Murphy said that restaurants and bars can begin operating indoors at 25-percent capacity with social distancing in between tables. In a later press conference, he also announced that movie theaters and other indoor performance venues can reopen on September 4.
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July 23, 2020

NJ yoga, pilates, and martial arts studios can reopen for indoor classes

Some fitness studios in New Jersey can resume indoor classes at limited capacity, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Wednesday. The governor clarified an executive order issued this week that allowed for outdoor control drills and practices to resume for "high-risk" organized sports, including football, cheerleading, wrestling, and others.
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July 21, 2020

New York’s 14-day travel quarantine expands to more than half of the country

Individuals traveling to New York from ten additional states must quarantine for 14 days, bringing the total number of states under the travel advisory to 31, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday. The new states added to the list include Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, and Washington, all places with "significant community spread," according to the state.
The full list of states
July 8, 2020

New Jersey mandates that face masks be worn outside

Nearly three months after Governor Cuomo mandated face masks be worn in outdoor public spaces in New York, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey has finally done the same. Murphy did mandate face masks be worn indoors back in April, but it wasn't until an appearance this morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe that he said he'll be signing an executive order today. "They’ve been strongly recommended out-of-doors. We’re gonna turn that up a notch today... If you can’t socially distance, it’s gonna be required." His announcement comes
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June 29, 2020

New Jersey delays indoor dining as COVID-19 cases spike in other states

Restaurants and bars in New Jersey will no longer be able to resume indoor service on Thursday as planned, Gov. Phil Murphy announced. The governor on Monday said the pause of this part of the state's reopening plan comes as coronavirus cases spike across the country and more photos and videos of maskless crowds at establishments have surfaced. "It brings me no joy to do this, but we have no choice," Murphy said during a press briefing.
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June 23, 2020

New Jersey will open indoor dining and outdoor amusement parks ahead of July 4th weekend

Yesterday, Governor Phil Murphy announced that New Jersey will allow indoor dining and casinos to begin operating at 25-percent capacity on July 2. Today, he said on Twitter that outdoor amusement parks, including rides on the boardwalk, and outdoor water parks, can open on this date with 50-percent capacity. Playgrounds can reopen with no limitations. The governor's decision comes after he allowed beaches to open ahead of Memorial Day Weekend and restaurants to open for outdoor dining on June 15, but some are concerned about taking the next step prior to the busy July 4 weekend.
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June 12, 2020

New Jersey sues Asbury Park for ignoring state order on indoor dining

Earlier this week, a beach town in New Jersey said it would allow indoor dining at some businesses next week, defying a recent executive order from Gov. Phil Murphy. The Asbury Park City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution to allow bars and restaurants to open their dining rooms at 25 percent capacity starting Monday. Earlier this month, Murphy signed an order that would allow for limited outdoor dining at restaurants starting June 15, but he said "we're not there yet," when it comes to indoor dining. In response, the governor announced today that the state would be suing Asbury to prevent this from happening.
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June 2, 2020

New Jersey set to open hair salons, in-store retail, and outdoor dining this month

In his press conference yesterday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that his state was looking to enter stage two of its reopening on Monday, June 15. On this date, outdoor dining and limited in-store retail would begin, with hair salons and barbershops following on the 22nd and youth summer programs in early July. This second stage would also phase in museums and libraries, as well as limited capacity at gyms and in-person government services such as motor vehicles.
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May 13, 2020

New Jersey will start reopening on Monday

In his press conference on Wednesday, Governor Phil Murphy announced that as of 6:00 am on Monday, May 18, New Jersey would begin its reopening process by allowing the restart of non-essential construction, non-essential retail stores to reopen for curbside pickup only, and drive-through and drive-in events to operate under social distancing guidelines. This is quite similar to what is allowed under New York's first phase of reopening, however, NJ's northern neighbor New York City is still not at that point. "The data we are seeing gives us confidence that we can begin the careful and responsible restart of our economy to get people back to work and to begin to set the stage for the steps to come," Murphy said.
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April 28, 2020

Will New Jersey beaches really reopen by Memorial Day?

"I want to see the shore humming throughout the summer," said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy yesterday when discussing a reopening plan for his state. According to the New York Times, he said that this could come as soon as Memorial Day, considered the kick-off weekend to summer. But the suggestion has drawn mixed emotions, since yesterday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo alluded to the fact that the New York City area would not reopen when his state's current Pause order ends on May 15th. Cuomo has also been persistent in his message that reopenings must be coordinated within the tri-state region to avoid sending crowds from one state to another.
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April 8, 2020

All of the beach, boardwalk, and park closures in NJ

As the number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey continues to climb, state and city officials are furthering social distancing measures by closing public spaces across the state. Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday signed an executive order shuttering all state parks and forests, as well as county parks. A number of Jersey Shore towns have closed beaches and boardwalks, with some even banning short-term rentals to curb visits from out-of-towners. "My focus and our focus, our sole mission right now is the health of every New Jersey family," Murphy said. "And we must not just flatten this curve, we must crush this curve." Ahead, find out which public spaces in NJ have been temporarily closed as a result of the pandemic.
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April 5, 2019

Gov. Murphy fears New Jersey will get the short straw in congestion pricing details

As details like discounts and transit perks are discussed in the wake of New York’s newly approved plan to levy a congestion fee on vehicles entering Manhattan’s business district south of 61st Street, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has voiced objections to the plan, saying it it could be unfair to New Jersey residents, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the New York Post, commuter rail discounts are on the way for New York City residents coming from areas–such as some in northeast Queens–not served by subways, where the MTA agreed to knock 20 percent–$45–off monthly passes for LIRR commuters entering and leaving Penn Station. The MTA will also invest $3 million for express bus service from Queens to Midtown.
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