COVID-19 Digest: July 1

COVID-19 Digest: July 1

July 01, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Wednesday, July 1, 2020As NYC begins reopening, the digest will focus on the resources that help you make decisions about your businesses and your lives as New Yorkers.

Below and in our resource guide, you’ll find the latest information on government resources for businesses, city and state reopening measures, and return-to-office preparedness plans. If this can be useful to your colleagues and network, encourage them to sign up here.

The Latest in New York

The latest: Indoor dining will not return on Monday; PPP applications extended through August, pending House vote; NYCBOE delays election results; some big companies are adjusting return-to-office plans due to increased infections across the country.  Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 394,079 (+625)

  • New York City: 215,475 (+296)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 24,866 (+11)

  • Daily NYC Infection Rate: 1.1 percent (+0.1 percent)

General Updates:

  • NYC remains on track to begin Phase III of reopening on Monday, but without indoor dining. (New York Times) Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio both announced today that, given inadequate social distancing compliance in the city and the risk of spread from other states, indoor dining will be postponed until further notice.

  • Gov. Cuomo signed new legislation extending rent protections to tenants who have been impacted by COVID-19. (Times Union) The current eviction moratorium is set to expire on August 20.

  • NYC passed its $88.1 billion budget on-time last night. (New York Times) Criticism of the final agreement came from both sides of the aisle, but notable components include the $1 billion cut in NYPD funding, $87 million for public housing broadband, and $115 million for summer youth employment.

  • With just hours left before the federal Paycheck Protection Program was scheduled to close, the US Senate voted to extend the application period for five more weeks, allowing businesses to apply for aid until August 8. (Axios) But the House has to pass the bill and Pres. Trump has to sign it into law before the extension goes into effect.

  • The NYC Board of Elections was flooded with absentee ballot requests, and the overwhelming volume means that mail-in vote counting won’t begin until July 6, delaying official results for at least another week. (City & State)

One staggering stat: According to Goldman Sachs, a national mask mandate could save the US economy $1 trillion. (Forbes)One opportunity due tomorrow: To help NYC reopen safely and direct revenues from PPE purchases back to the local economy, NYCEDC is seeking a partner to create a digital marketplace to facilitate sales between NYC-based PPE suppliers and businesses. Responses will be accepted up until 11:59 pm on Thursday, July 2, 2020. The target go-live date for this marketplace is mid-July. Click here for more information. One fun read: A visual diary from photographer Sam Youkilis: The Reawakening of New York (Vogue)

Survey

The latest results: How will it impact your daily life if schools have not resumed full-time in-person learning this fall?

  • 50.4%: No impact

  • 14.2%: Minor impact

  • 27.6%: Significant impact 

  • 7.9%: Potentially catastrophic impact 

Today’s poll: NYC pulled the plug on indoor dining at restaurants, which was set to resume as part of Phase III on Monday. No new target date has been set for when we can expect it to return. When do you think indoor dining will be able to safely resume?

  • *|SURVEY: Later this summer|*

  • *|SURVEY: In the fall|*

  • *|SURVEY: Not until 2021|*

Reminder: If you haven’t already, please help us get to know you better by completing our quick audience survey here. Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here.

What You Need to Know

What to Know: Reopening:

  • Indoor dining has been removed from NYC’s Phase III reopening plans, even as the rest of the state is already allowing for indoor dining at half capacity. (POLITICO) No new target date has been set for the resumption of indoor seating at restaurants.

  • The other components of Phase III will be permitted to move forward on Monday, including the reopening of nail salons, dog runs, and sports fields in city parks. (NY1)

  • The MTA is deploying a dozen PPE vending machines in 10 subway stations in a pilot program selling masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, and sanitizing wipes to straphangers. (Gothamist)

  • The MTA also plans to return to front door bus boarding and fare collection in August, and the agency is installing plexiglass and plastic barriers on more than 4,000 busses to protect drivers. (New York Post)

  • Mayor de Blasio announced that 15 outdoor pools will be permitted to open in the coming weeks. Three will open July 24, and another 12 will open August 1. (Gothamist)

  • The Capital region joins most other upstate regions in moving into Phase IV of reopening today. (NY State of Politics)

Related reading:

  • Close the bars. Reopen the schools. (Vox)

What to Know: Return-to-Office:

  • Citi is pulling back on its plans to bring workers back in 13 states where the virus is spiking, but plans to move forward with bringing back five percent of its workers to its offices in the US Northeast, including New York. (Bloomberg)

  • Google is similarly pushing back its reopening plan for US offices, all of which will now remain closed until September 7 at the earliest. (Bloomberg)

  • Jefferies Financial Group has said its workers will “work from home until they feel safe coming back.” This contrasts with other New York institutions like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, both of which began recalling their first wave of employees. (Bloomberg)

Related reading:

  • In Silicon Valley, Developers Bet Big on the Return to Offices (Bloomberg)

  • Manhattan Office Rents Seen Plunging 26% in Prolonged Downturn (Bloomberg)

  • Companies Hit by COVID-19 Want Insurance Payouts. Insurers Say No. (Wall Street Journal)

  • Manhattan Hotels Pitch Rooms for Office Space with Travel Frozen (Bloomberg) 

Request: please let us know as your return-to-office policies are developed and what considerations your companies are taking for developing them. Sharing this information is helpful to companies and employees across the NYC ecosystem and can be kept anonymous.

Reminder: Tech:NYC’s resource guide is now available here and contains a comprehensive list of return-to-office plans published in previous digests.

Recruit: A tech talent and job opportunities board from Tech:NYC and AlleyCorp compiles NYC tech workers looking for new roles and NYC-based tech companies hiring open positions. To contribute to the board, click here.

Events:

  • July 2: Virtual: The Daily Stack: Legal Advice for Founders, with Cyruli Shanks Hart & Zizmor LLP. Hosted by Stacklist. (Details)

  • July 7: Virtual: Managing Company and Team Operations Post COVID-19, with Google’s Tejpaul Bhatia. Hosted by TechDay. (Details)

  • July 9: Virtual: Tech Runway Digital Demo Day, with Becoco, Heuritech, Reflaunt, and more. Hosted by the NY Tech Fashion Lab. (Details)

  • July 9: Virtual: brunchwork at home, with Founders Fund and M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. Hosted by brunchwork. Use code TECHNYC30 for 30% off. (Details)

  • July 23: Virtual: 2020 Digital New York, with Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Assembly Member Clyde Vanel, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and more. Hosted by City & State. (Details)

When In Doubt

Check these sources for verified information from government agencies and public health authorities:

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