Coronavirus in N.Y.C.: The Latest - The New York Times

Weather: Partly sunny, with a high in the mid-50s.

Alternate-side parking: Suspended through Tuesday because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mayor de Blasio said yesterday that the coronavirus crisis could cause economic fallout akin to the Great Depression, and also warned New York City residents to prepare for the possibility of a “shelter in place” order within 48 hours of when he spoke.

The mayor, who acknowledged that such a move had to be coordinated with state officials, did not elaborate on what an order would look like in the city. A similar directive in California’s Bay Area requires people to stay at home except for essential activities.

But not long after Mr. de Blasio’s comments, Governor Cuomo tamped down any suggestion that a shelter-in-place order was imminent.

“There’s not going to be any you-have-to-stay-in-your-house rule,” Mr. Cuomo said on NY1.

[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]

As of Tuesday, more than 1,700 people in New York State had tested positive for the virus, up from 950 the day before; 923 of the cases were in the city. Sixteen people had died from the virus in New York State, including at least 10 in the city.

[New York may need 18,000 ventilators very soon. It is far short of that.]

Here’s what else you should know:

Mr. de Blasio said the city would soon be able to test 5,000 people a day for the coronavirus, an increase from the current capacity of several hundred people a day.

[My Coronavirus Test: 5 Days, a Dozen Calls, Hours of Confusion]
New York City’s public transportation system is seeking a $4 billion federal bailout amid an extraordinary plunge in ridership.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s subway and buses and two commuter railroads, said that subway ridership had fallen 60 percent and that bus ridership had fallen 49 percent on Monday, compared with the same day last year. The drops were 90 percent on the Metro-North Railroad and 67 percent on the Long Island Rail Road.
All New York City recreation centers and nature centers were closed to the public until further notice. Parks and playgrounds remained open.

One caution: New York City does not regularly clean outdoor furniture and play equipment, and the coronavirus can live for days on some surfaces, research shows.

And finally: A theater family says a tearful goodbye

Credit...Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The Times’s Todd Heisler writes:

See you on the other side.

Those were the words that Matthew Viragh was spelling on the marquee at the Nitehawk Prospect Park movie theater in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. It was a simple message, but it was taking longer than usual because every couple of minutes one of the theater’s employees stopped him to say goodbye — for now.

A few days earlier, Governor Cuomo had announced restrictions on large public gatherings. And then on Monday, New York ordered movie theaters and most other “nonessential” business to close down at 8 p.m., sending yet another coronavirus-related ripple through the local economy.

Mr. Viragh, who founded Nitehawk, had to make some quick decisions without much information. He set aside food from the theater’s restaurant for workers who would be going home without a clear idea of when their next paycheck would come.

“I am trying my best to take care of my employees,” said Mr. Viragh, who employs around 150 people. “We are all in this together.”

It’s Wednesday — take care of yourself and others.

Metropolitan Diary: Vacation day

Dear Diary:

It was 2015, my first holiday season after moving to New York City. I had returned to my West Village apartment after an emotionally bruising Christmas with a few vacation days to burn before the new year started.

The weather was unusually mild on this particular day, and I decided to stroll down the Hudson River Greenway in hopes of lifting my spirits. The sky was overcast, but it lent a lovely silver light to my walk, with the towers along the lower West Side echoed faintly by the outlines of Hoboken and Jersey City across the river.

My mood began to improve. Just being on the city streets, I had discovered, was often all it took to cheer and fortify me.

When I reached the Battery, I decided to take the subway back up to 14th Street and have lunch at a restaurant in the neighborhood.

Sitting on a stool at the bar, I ordered nachos and a margarita and settled in. A tall young woman in a black tracksuit sat down two stools to my left and placed her order. She was wearing a large pair of headphones, and she was clearly enjoying her music.

When her order arrived, the bartender tapped her gently on the forearm and asked whether she needed anything else. She lifted one headphone.

“It’s all good,” she said, breaking into a grin. “I’m having a party for one.”

— Tony Glad

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2020-03-18 09:28:06Z
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