NewsPost
  • COVID
  • Business
  • Donations
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • World News
LaterCovid
Subscribe
LaterCovid
  • COVID
  • Business
  • Donations
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • World News
  • Donations

From Shops To Dining Out, New York City Gears Up For Next Reopening Phase

  • June 22, 2020
  • latercovid

NEW YORK (AP) — From Macy’s “Miracle on 34th Street” store to the World Trade Center’s office towers, New York City hits a key point Monday in trying to rebound from the nation’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak.

For the first time in three months, New Yorkers will be able to dine out, though only at outdoor tables. Shoppers can once again browse in the city’s destination stores. Shaggy heads can get haircuts. Cooped-up kids can finally climb playground monkey bars instead of apartment walls. Office workers can return to their desks, though many won’t yet.

Larry Silverstein, for one, can’t wait.

The 89-year-old World Trade Center developer is going to work at his office there Monday, along with up to a third of Silverstein Properties’ staff. The firm is staggering schedules so employees can keep their distance and they’ll have to wear masks in the 7 World Trade Center lobby. Footprints mark where to stand in elevators now limited to about a quarter their usual capacity.

To Silverstein, returning to office life and in-person teamwork brings “a joy, a fulfillment, such a sense of being able to function.” He doesn’t buy into arguments that the pandemic doesn’t bode well for office work or New York City.

“I went through 9/11. I remember people telling me we were never going to be able to get people to come back to lower Manhattan,” said Silverstein, who leased the twin towers six weeks before the 2001 terror attacks destroyed them. “Never bet against New York, because New York always comes back, bigger and better than ever before.”

But some New Yorkers are apprehensive.

Alex Michaels may return soon to a retail job. He agrees it’s important to revive the economy, but he worries about potential coronavirus exposure from working with the public, even with new safety measures.

“Something’s got to give. I get that,” said Michaels, 30, but there could be “a high price to pay.”

Eve Gonzalez, a food industry worker whose job hasn’t yet resumed, feels it’s too soon to relax restrictions.

“I’m dying to go out, but people’s health is more important,” said Gonzalez, 27.

The virus has been blamed for over 22,000 New York City deaths. The death toll has been in single digits in recent days. Infections are down, but between 200 and 400 people have still been testing positive for the virus each day over the past two weeks, according to city data.

The city estimates 150,000 to 300,000 additional workers will return to their jobs Monday, two weeks after reopening began with construction, curbside-pickup retail, wholesaling and manufacturing.

Monday marks just the second of four reopening phases, but Mayor Bill de Blasio sees it as “the single biggest piece of our economy,” particularly for a restaurant industry he called “quintessential to New York City.”

After three months of struggling to get by on takeout and delivery, Melba Wilson is exuberant about introducing appropriately spaced sidewalk tables outside Melba’s, her Harlem restaurant.

“This is definitely the infusion that we so greatly needed. … It’s been very grim,” and not just financially, said Wilson, president of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, an industry group. “We talk about being physically distant, which is important, but being socially active is important, as well.”

Retailers also hope for a boost once customers can wander aisles and try on clothes, with new virus-safety measures.

At Macy’s famous flagship store, makeup testing is temporarily banned. Clothes left in fitting rooms won’t go back on the rack for 24 hours. Workers will undergo temperature checks. Mask-wearing shoppers will find plastic dividers at cash registers.

“We want both customers and colleagues to be comfortable and to feel that their safety and health is our top priority,” said division Vice President Kathy Hilt.

Saks Fifth Avenue plans to reopen Wednesday, with 100 new hand-sanitizer stations and escalator handrails newly outfitted with ultraviolet-light disinfection, among other changes.

Shuttered offices also can reopen Monday, with various new rules. But some of the city’s biggest corporate employers are sticking with largely remote work for now.

Only about 5% of Citi’s 13,300 New York City employees are expected back at the bank’s offices on July 1. JPMorgan Chase hasn’t set a date yet for returning to its New York offices; Wells Fargo’s time frame is July 31 or later. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is extending remote working at least until the as-yet-undetermined date for city’s next reopening phase.

With work-from-home arrangements now established and employees concerned about offices, public-transit commutes and child care, many white-collar companies are “moving with caution and safety,” says Bhushan Sethi, a PwC partner specializing in workplace strategies. The consulting and accounting firm plans to reopen its own New York offices in September.

As New York reopens, retail worker William Rodgers is figuring out his next steps.

The last three months have not been easy, but “a lot of us have gotten time to reflect on our own lives,” said Rodgers, 29. “That’s one blessing.”

AP Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio contributed.

A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter

latercovid

Previous Article
  • Donations

Second Shooting In 48 Hours At Seattle Protest Zone Leaves 1 Wounded

  • June 22, 2020
  • latercovid
Read More
Next Article
  • Donations

NYPD Officer Suspended After Video Catches Him Using Illegal Chokehold On Black Man

  • June 22, 2020
  • latercovid
Read More
You May Also Like
Read More
  • Donations

Jimmy Kimmel Debunks The Biggest Fairy Tale About Trump Still Pushed By Fox News

  • latercovid
  • January 20, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

National Cathedral Bell Tolls 400 Times To Mark Sobering COVID-19 Milestone

  • latercovid
  • January 20, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

Justice Department Ends Probe Into Sen. Richard Burr’s Stock Trades

  • latercovid
  • January 20, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

Tiffany Trump’s Interestingly Timed Engagement News Raises Eyebrows On Twitter

  • latercovid
  • January 19, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

Ken Burns Says U.S. Is ‘Beset By 3 Viruses’: COVID-19, Racism And Misinformation

  • latercovid
  • January 19, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell Sent Cease-And-Desist Letter By Voting Tech Company Dominion

  • latercovid
  • January 19, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

Garth Brooks Says Inauguration Performance Isn’t About Politics

  • latercovid
  • January 18, 2021
Read More
  • Donations

Rebekah Jones Turns Herself In To Florida Authorities After Warrant Issued For Her Arrest

  • latercovid
  • January 18, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts
  • Closing arguments in Derek Chauvin trial over George Floyd killing set to begin
  • Two men killed as Tesla without anyone in the driver’s seat crashes into tree and catches fire
  • Stalkers have become increasingly obsessive during lockdown – leaving victims feeling trapped
  • ‘Impossible’ to limit rise in temperatures if climate summit fails – as UK told to step up COP26 plans
  • Not even VAR united rival fans, former players and pundits in their outrage and opposition like this
Recent Comments
    Categories
    • Business (115)
    • COVID (130)
    • Donations (3,367)
    • Environment (14)
    • Health (21)
    • Politics (45)
    • Travel (29)
    • World News (38)
    LaterCovid
    • COVID
    • Business
    • Donations
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Travel
    • Politics
    • World News
    Copyright © 2020 LaterCovid.com All rights reserved.

    Input your search keywords and press Enter.

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.That's fine