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Long Island Is on the Verge of Reopening

A restart would leave New York City as the only region in the state to remain on “pause.”

[This briefing has ended. For the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak in the New York area, read Wednesday’s live coverage.]

Cases and deaths in New York

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10,000 cases
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7-day average
Total reported On May 25 14-day change
Cases 2 million 945 –45%
Deaths 52,638 17 –45%
Hospitalized 1,890 –29%

Day with reporting anomaly.

Hospitalization data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 14-day change trends use 7-day averages.

See maps of the coronavirus outbreak in New York »

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Businesses in Sag Harbor on Long Island in March.Credit...Johnny Milano for The New York Times

The densely populated suburbs of Long Island are on the cusp of restarting parts of their economy, leaving the strong possibility that on Wednesday, New York City will be the only region in the state to remain on what Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has labeled a “pause.”

“We are on track,” Laura Curran, the Nassau County executive, said at a news briefing on Tuesday. “I know people are itching to get back to work.”

Long Island — home to 2.8 million people, about 15 percent of New York’s population — was among the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus, with nearly 80,000 reported cases and more than 4,500 deaths.

In the past two weeks, eight regions in New York have entered the first phase of reopening by meeting the seven benchmarks set by the governor. People in the reopened areas can pick up retail purchases in stores or at curbside and can commence work in manufacturing and construction.

On Tuesday evening, Long Island was just shy of satisfying two of the state standards to advance — deaths needed to continue to decline, and more contact tracers were required.

Ms. Curran noted that on Long Island, virus-related hospitalizations had gone down for 43 consecutive days.

“It’s going to be a slow process to get back,” Ms. Curran said, “so I’m really happy that we’re starting that process tomorrow.”

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Arriving for Rutgers University’s graduation ceremony in 2018.Credit...Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Schools in New Jersey will be allowed to hold outdoor graduation ceremonies in July, Gov. Philip D. Murphy announced on Tuesday.

The announcement came after Mr. Murphy loosened a number of restrictions ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, including allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people.

Mr. Murphy said that graduation ceremonies could begin July 6 and would have to comply with social distancing rules.

New Jersey reported 54 new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 11,191. Over the past two weeks, New Jersey has reported more deaths — 1,739 — than New York, which is more than twice as populous.

On Tuesday, New Jersey officials also noted a sharp drop in childhood vaccinations.

Between March 1 and April 20, there was a 40 percent decline in vaccines administered to children 2 and younger, and a 60 percent decline in vaccines for children older than 2, compared with the same time period last year, health officials said.

“The need to protect against serious childhood diseases like whooping cough does not disappear during the Covid-19 public health emergency,” the state health commissioner, Judith Persichilli, said. New York City has seen an even steeper drop in vaccination rates.

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“What about us in the Bronx?” asked Vilmarie Maldonado, 42, and her daughter, Carolina Santos, 7, outside River Park Towers, where they live. “We need more help.”Credit...Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times

Working on the front lines of the pandemic can be hazardous, but staying home isn’t safe either for the emergency responders, pharmacists, home health aides, grocery clerks and deliverymen who fill River Park Towers in the Bronx.

Even a ride down the elevator is risky. Residents often must wait up to an hour to squeeze into small, poorly ventilated cars, with people crowding the hallways.

There is talk that as many as 100 residents have been sickened by the coronavirus at the two towers rising above the Morris Heights neighborhood. But no one knows for sure.

“It’s the death towers, you could say that,” said Maria Lopez, 42, a resident.

The worst health crisis in a century has exploded across New York City, and it has inflicted the worst toll on the Bronx, the city’s poorest borough.

The virus has spread building by building in neighborhoods that have been unable to fight back, reflecting a legacy of institutionalized racism, poverty, cramped housing and chronic health problems that have put their residents at higher risk of getting sick and dying.

The Bronx has the highest rates of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the city, while the most well-off borough, Manhattan, has the lowest rates.

“This is not the last pandemic,” said Ruben Diaz Jr., the Bronx borough president. “How do we remedy institutionalized neglect in communities like the Bronx so in the future we have a fighting chance?”

City officials said they have held or taken part in more than 40 meetings and events in the Bronx to keep residents informed about the virus, and worked with health care workers and community organizations.

Still, at River Park Towers, the manager of a deli on the grounds said he has to tell young people to put on masks because the security guards and management do not.

Up on the 43rd floor, Ms. Lopez, who has asthma, regularly sprays the floor between the front door of her apartment and the elevator with disinfectant.

“We’re the black sheep put in the corner,” she said. “The city, the government, they have forgotten us.”

Seven counties just north of New York City began the slow process of restarting their economies on Tuesday.

“The door has crept open,” said Marc Molinaro, the executive of Dutchess County, which has so far lost at least 137 residents to Covid-19, including Mr. Molinaro’s father. “When you’re little and you’re in a darkened room and you just kind of open the door to see the light, that’s kind of what we’re experiencing today.”

The Mid-Hudson region — which includes the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester — is home to more than 2.3 million people, and includes New Rochelle, the city where the outbreak began in New York State.

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transcript

‘Wearing a Mask Is Now Cool,’ Cuomo says

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo strongly encouraged New York residents to wear a mask as the state reopens more regions.

Wearing a mask is now cool. I believe it’s cool — if I could sign an executive order that says wearing a mask is officially cool. Wearing the mask has got to be something you do every day, when you get up, when you walk out of the house, you put the mask on. And I said the other day, you know, New Yorkers want to reinforce it for other New Yorkers. This is cool. You want to encourage people to do this. By the way, they have all sorts of colored masks. You don’t have a boring mask like my mask. I’m a boring guy. They have colored masks. They have masks that say things. Some people coordinate their outfit with the color of their mask. And this has to be part of literally who we are, and what we do every day. That does not mean when someone doesn’t wear a mask we should be rude to that person or be obnoxious to that person, but this has got to be part of every New Yorker’s fashion and design, and clothing and outfitting — wearing the mask — it makes a real difference. And if you think that’s all talk, answer for me why all the first responders have a lower infection rate than the general population? The only difference is they wore a mask.

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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo strongly encouraged New York residents to wear a mask as the state reopens more regions.CreditCredit...Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he hopes that New York City can begin reopening in the first half of June. The city has yet to meet benchmarks set by the governor on available hospital beds and contact tracers.

At his daily news briefing on Tuesday, Governor Cuomo said the state would direct more resources to some low-income city neighborhoods hit hardest by the virus. They include the ZIP codes covering Norwood in the Bronx and Far Rockaway and Corona in Queens, each of which has had more than 80 people newly hospitalized for the virus in the past week.

Other news from Mr. Cuomo’s morning briefing:

  • An additional 73 people had died of the virus in New York, the third day in the last four with under 100 deaths. “In this absurd new reality, that is good news,” he said.

  • Mr. Cuomo will meet with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss infrastructure, among other things.

  • Mr. Cuomo said he planned to urge the president to advance several projects requiring federal approval, including an AirTrain to La Guardia Airport and a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. “There is no better time to build than right now,” he said.

Mr. de Blasio signed several bills into law on Tuesday that were intended to help New Yorkers during the pandemic, including a limit on the fees that app-based services like Grubhub can charge restaurants for making deliveries.

Grubhub and competitors like DoorDash and Uber Eats have previously reaped commissions of up to 30 percent on orders they fulfill and deliver. Restaurant owners had pushed for the fees to be reined in even before the virus outbreak.

But with dine-in options shuttered, restaurants have increasingly relied on takeout and delivery services, squeezing already tight profit margins further and forcing layoffs and closings.

The bill, passed by the City Council on May 13, set a 5 percent cap on how much such services can collect from restaurants for taking orders, and a 15 percent cap on delivery fees.

“The fees from the delivery apps are causing such a burden,” Mr. de Blasio said on Tuesday. “And that’s what the City Council sought to address.”

Other legislation signed by Mr. de Blasio included:

  • A bill preventing delivery apps from charging restaurants for phone calls that do not result in orders.

  • A bill that protects tenants from being harassed based on being affected by the coronavirus or being an essential worker.

  • A bill that protects commercial tenants from being threatened because they or their business were affected by the virus.

  • A bill that protects business owners who were forced to close during the pandemic from being personally liable if they cannot pay their rent. Under the bill, landlords would not be able to go after their tenants’ personal assets if the tenant defaulted on the lease.

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The stock exchange partially reopened on Tuesday.Credit...Brendan McDermid/Reuters

The New York Stock Exchange partly reopened its trading floor to a small number of brokers on Tuesday, as Governor Cuomo rang the opening bell.

Under new rules, anyone entering the building must wear a mask, have their temperature checked and abstain from using public transit.

The latter requirement prompted criticism when the stock exchange’s president, Stacey Cunningham, announced it May 14.

Some critics argued it was classist. Others suggested it would clog city streets. The transportation news site Streetsblog called the rule “a preview of the coming carpocalypse.”

But no one will be required to come in, and traders and other employees can keep working remotely, Ms. Cunningham said.

With so much trading conducted electronically, some regard the in-person trading floors as a photogenic relic. But in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Ms. Cunningham wrote that “stocks trade better when the floor is open, with reduced volatility and fairer prices,” saving investors millions of dollars a day.

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A virtual liturgy being filmed at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Brooklyn on Tuesday.Credit...Benjamin Norman for The New York Times

Brooklyn and Queens Catholics were allowed to return to church today, but only for private prayer or very small events.

Under rules on religious gatherings set last week by Governor Cuomo, no more than 10 people will be allowed inside at any time, and parishioners must maintain distances of at least six feet and wear masks.

The Diocese of Brooklyn, which also covers Queens, will also resume funerals, weddings and baptisms, but with the same 10-person limit in place.

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The Church of St. Mel in Flushing, Queens, opened for private prayer on Tuesday.Credit...Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

“We know many people have eagerly been awaiting the day our churches would open,” Nicholas DiMarzio, the bishop of Brooklyn, said in a statement. “While we cannot celebrate Mass just yet, it is so important that we can now enter for prayer.”

In the meantime, the diocese will continue to livestream Mass and air it on NET-TV, the diocese’s cable channel.

The Archdiocese of New York, which covers New York City’s other three boroughs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its reopening plans.

Patrick Ewing, the former New York Knicks superstar who tested positive for the coronavirus, was discharged from the hospital on Monday, his son, Patrick Ewing Jr., said on Twitter.

Mr. Ewing, currently the head coach at Georgetown University, announced on Friday that he had Covid-19.

Mr. Ewing, 57, had been treated at a hospital in the Washington area, Georgetown said.

The coronavirus outbreak has brought much of life in New York to a halt and there is no clear end in sight. But there are also moments that offer a sliver of strength, hope, humor or some other type of relief: a joke from a stranger on line at the supermarket; a favor from a friend down the block; a great meal ordered from a restaurant we want to survive; trivia night via Zoom with the bar down the street.

We’d like to hear about your moments, the ones that are helping you through these dark times. A reporter or editor may contact you. Your information will not be published without your consent.

Reporting was contributed by Lindsey Rogers Cook, Maria Cramer, Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura, Michael Gold, Winnie Hu, Andy Newman, Dana Rubinstein and Matt Stevens.

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