A push to reopen New York’s economy is underway and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is looking at the state’s individual regions to make it happen.

The governor announced former Lieutenant Governor and Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce President Bob Duffy will play a key role in the effort.

"Honored to be asked by Gov. Cuomo to serve as an advisory for the Finger Lakes region for opening up New York," said Duffy.

Duffy says his first priority will be to listen and gather data. He says businesses opening up again will be a gradual process.

"So it is what can we do safely, how do we protect people? There's no way the entire economy reopen in a week or even a month. There needs to be segmentation. There has to be certain principles and certain practices put into place," said Duffy.

There's no timetable yet on when businesses will be allowed to open, or even what type of places can operate. Duffy does believe that when they do open, they will do it with social distancing in mind.

"Construction, house painting, there's a lot of things that can be done where you are 6 to 8, to 20 feet apart. You can wear a mask. There are ways you can protect yourself," said Duffy.

The goal going forward is to get people back to work, while keeping the public safe.

"This virus does not get up and leave on May 15th or June 1. It is here and we don't want the infection rates to go up," said Duffy.