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Phase 3 Begins In NYC; Salons, Dog Parks, Basketball Courts Among Those To Reopen, Indoor Dining Not Allowed

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Nail salons and other personal care services, including spas, tanning salons and tattoo parlors are back in business in New York City as Phase 3 started Monday.

But, the businesses must limit capacity to 50%, disinfect work stations for every new customer, and everyone must wear face coverings at all times.

"When customers come in, we have to measure temperature, and I like having a record of name and phone number, and temperature," Susie Chang, who owns Susie's Nail Salon, told CBS2's Christina Fan.

"A week ago, I think I saw Susie's husband in the window and I said maybe they're reopening. I've been calling for weeks and I'm so happy to be here," said Beth Lewis, who arrived early for a 10:30 a.m. appointment.

Late Sunday night, Grace Hahn and her mother were busy at La Jolie Nail Salon on the Upper West Side setting up single-manicure and pedicure booths to make sure customers and employees feel safe when they reopen.

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"We're really excited. We've had a lot of customers that are really excited to be coming back. They've been waiting for our reopening. We've been setting up all the barriers and taking all precautions, so I'm pretty excited," Hahn said.

Phase 3 also includes the reopening of dog parks, basketball and tennis courts.

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On the West 4th Street basketball courts, four months of bottled-up adrenaline was finally released. The sweltering heat and humidity on Monday was no match for how badly the players missed playing ball.

"We were already organizing, talking our smack, just ready to get out here," said Mel Scott of Harlem.

Raiquan Brewinton of Washington Heights had already been playing for a few hours when CBS2 caught up to him.

"I'm planning on not leaving, probably until it's dark," Brewinton said.

Even though many children are eager to play, some parents told CBS2 they are not fully comfortable.

"I am very nervous living across the street from a park. Very nervous," Nick Tsikitas of Astoria said. "My boys are excited because they want to shoot the ball around, but I keep telling them I'd rather have them not put up yet, to be honest. Because it's going to bring a lot of kids, a lot of people. There's no way you can social distance from a sport like basketball, which I love, by the way."

Safety concerns led to the postponement of indoor dining, which was originally including in Phase 3.

That's a tough blow to restaurants like Empanada Mama in Hell's Kitchen.

CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Belle Antonio, the manager, said she was hoping to bring back some of the more than 100 employees the restaurant laid off.

"We feel really disappointed with that...because our servers from before were looking forward for that so that they could go back to work," Antonio said.

It's especially difficult for an eatery like Sweetcatch Poke, which has no space for outdoor dining on the sidewalk. Its revenue has plummeted 80%.

"We bought in more staff, we trained up more staff, we bought in more inventory, and then all of a sudden it stopped. So you have all those costs that are kind of lost," owner Frank Vellucci said.

It's unclear when indoor dining will resume.

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