COVID-19 Digest: May 19

COVID-19 Digest: May 19

May 19, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

COVID-19 Digest

Tuesday, May 19, 2020Please share this with your networks and encourage your colleagues to sign up here. If there are other topics or resources that would be helpful in future editions of this digest, please let us know here.Tech:NYC’s resource guide includes information on government resources for businesses, new health tracking and treatment tools, and a new section with return-to-office preparedness plans and resources. It will be updated regularly.

The Latest in New York

The latest: NYC faces four year economic recovery prognosis; what to expect when restaurants reopen; new guidance helps small biz request loan forgiveness; feeding yourself and the local restaurant ecosystem. Confirmed Cases: 

  • New York State: 352,845 (+1,474)

  • New York City: 193,821 (+591)

  • Statewide Fatalities: 22,843 (+105)

General Updates:

  • An appeals court upheld a decision today to reinstate New York’s June 23 primary, the final word that it will proceed as planned. (NBC New York)

  • NYC’s Independent Budget Office says it will take the city four years to recover from COVID-19, with employment returning to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. (New York Post)

  • The Capital Region became the seventh region to meet reopening criteria and will be allowed to do so beginning tomorrow. The Mid-Hudson region, Long Island, and NYC remain under PAUSE orders. (Times Union)

  • New York will allow ceremonies of 10 people or less paying tribute to service members and vehicle parades for the Memorial Day holiday, leaving further decisions to local governments. (New York Daily News)

  • The U.S.-Canada border will remain closed to all non-essential travel for at least another month, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling it a clear point of vulnerability for COVID-19 spread. (CNN)

  • Some global perspective: in the northeast region of China, outbreak conditions have returned to the height of the epidemic in February, and 100 million people are returning to lockdown. (Bloomberg)

  • One follow-up from our beaches guide yesterday: worried that city dwellers will flock to Long Island beaches opening this weekend, county executives there want to restrict access to local residents only. (NBC New York)

One generous thing: Suzy is partnering with Via, Slice, Knotel, and other New York tech companies to distribute laptops and other technology to NYC students in need. To get more details and join the #NYTechCares coalition, click here.One feel-good thing: Fourteen writers on how they’re finding joy (in spite of everything). (New York Times)

Survey

Yesterday's results: Will you travel out of the city this weekend to get to a beach or for another Memorial Day activity?

  • 20.1%: Yes, I’m planning to travel out of the city.

  • 47.2%: No, I’m staying in the city.

  • 32.7%: I’m already based outside of NYC.

Today’s poll: With predictions that NYC will begin implementing reopening plans in the first half of June, restaurants are putting together their own plans for attracting customers back to their tables. When do you think you will feel comfortable sitting down in a restaurant or bar again for the first time?

  • *|SURVEY: As soon as possible.|*

  • *|SURVEY: Later in the summer.|*

  • *|SURVEY: In the fall or winter.|*

  • *|SURVEY: Not until 2021.|*

Find the poll results from all previous editions of this newsletter here. If you have a question you’d like to ask the broader community in this newsletter, send us your ideas and we’ll try to include them!

What You Need to Know

Restaurant comebacks:

One of the most-missed parts of daily life has been restaurants, and it’s no surprise why — New York’s food and dining culture is at the heart of what makes our city great. New York won’t fully be back to normal until restaurants are back to normal (or the Upper West Side’s chopped liver shortage gets resolved). But that “normal” will likely look different. Here are the predictions — and some plans — for the next time we get to dine out:

  • In the last couple of weeks, restaurant owners across the five boroughs have begun to reopen their businesses, trying to figure out how to cater to a curious but cautious customer base. (Grub Street) 

  • It’s been a particularly bleak few months for Chinatown eateries, but there is good news: one food critic shows how, you can eat and shop your way through the neighborhood again, albeit differently. (Eater NY)

  • NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson has signaled a serious outdoor dining plan is in the works. (Eater NY)

    • Johnson, in coordination with an interagency government group and the NYC Hospitality Alliance, is beginning to gather feedback from restaurant owners, BIDs, and community boards to identify criteria and potential areas where this might work as a pilot. (Crain’s NY)

    • They point to Stone Street in lower Manhattan, which is closed to car traffic, as a model that could be applied in other parts of the city.

    • David Rockwell, a designer and architect known for his work with restaurants, is helping by making an outdoor dining template public to establishments that receive sidewalk permits. (Crain’s NY)

    • Included in a sweeping set of legislation meant to provide relief to restaurant owners is a suspension of sidewalk cafe permit fees in 2020, including refunds to fees already collected by the city. (Gothamist) 

  • Restaurant inspections were put on hiatus when they were ordered closed to in-person dining, and industry leaders want to use the reopening moment to overhaul the health-safety grading system. (THE CITY)

  • Several other cities have already begun executing recovery strategies that NYC should copy. Among them: dining “parklets” and vouchers for restaurant spending. (Eater NY)

  • Connecticut is also implementing some measures NYC can use: in addition to 50 percent capacity caps, restaurants will be open for outdoor dining only, menus must be disposable or posted on board, and silverware must be packaged or rolled. (New York Times)

  • When restaurants are able to reopen to in-person diners, most owners are envisioning a radically different experience:

    • Table partitions, “duckbill” face masks, and body temperature scanners are among the ideas on the table. (New York Daily News) 

    • Magnolia Bakery customers will have to step through a “cleanse portal” if they want service. (New York Post)

    • And even grabbing a quick beer at the bar could require a reservation. (Bloomberg)

  • And one final prediction: will the automat make a comeback? A new East Village restaurant is betting on it. (Eater NY)

RETURN-TO-OFFICE PLANS:

As New York plans its reopening, so too are companies forming their return-to-office strategies. In addition to following federal guidelines, here is some related reading:

  • Silicon Valley Rethinks the (Home) Office. (WIRED)

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.

POLICY:

  • The Small Business Administration released guidelines to businesses requesting forgiveness of PPP loans, including clarification on the “covered period,” which is eight weeks. (SBA) Changes that allow loan recipients more flexibility and time to spend funds are expected. (Wall Street Journal)

  • The state will ease its ban on hospital visitors by allowing them in 16 hospitals across the state, including nine in NYC, as part of a two-week pilot program. (New York Times)

  • NYC housing courts will conduct remote eviction settlement conferences as the system anticipates an influx of new eviction cases following the pandemic. (Twitter)

  • Some public officials are calling on the MTA to make it possible for straphangers to purchase masks from vending machines placed in subway stations. (Twitter)

EVENTS:

  • May 20: Webinar: Workforce Management in a Recessionary Environment, with Orrick. Hosted by the Data Future Lab. (Details)

  • May 22: Virtual: Getting Your Next Startup Job in a Downturn, with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures founder and partner Charlie O’Donnell. (Details)

  • May 26: Virtual: Return to Work for Technology Companies, with Sequoia. Hosted by Stride. (Details)

  • May 27: Virtual: Saving our Region’s Public Transportation Systems and Building For Tomorrow, as part of the 2020 RPA Assembly. Hosted by the Regional Plan Association. (Details)

  • May 27: Virtual: Fireside Chat with Birchbox Co-founder and CEO Katia Beauchamp. Hosted by SoGal Foundation. (Details)

  • May 28: Webinar: Financial and Economic Impact on NY Amid The Pandemic, with Comptroller Scott Stringer and Superintendent Linda Lacewell. (Details)

Food tips that help both you and restaurants:

  • HelpMainStreet, an online ordering tool created right here in NYC, has grown to include over 120,000 restaurants and other small businesses in all 50 states. (HelpMainStreet)

  • Cafe Altro Paradiso and its sister restaurant Estela both now sell weekly take-home boxes and wine bundles. (Cafe Altro Paradiso)

  • With alcohol takeout and delivery rules relaxed, here’s a refresher on how to support NYC bars and restaurants by ordering booze directly, including items usually only available wholesale. (Eater NY)

  • And since we’re approaching summer, this feels useful: your guide to ice cream and pie delivery. (Eater NY)

  • To raise funds for World Central Kitchen, a group of artists and chefs livestreamed all day last Saturday, and the program is airing again this weekend to boost more donations. (Vogue)

  • Finally, do not miss out on these new virtual backgrounds. Our favorites: dim sum halo and school of pizza fish. (The Infatuation)

When In Doubt

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

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