Unwelcome Realization In New York: Despite Gradual Reopening, Things Won’t Go Back To Normal Soon
New York City restaurants in particular have been hard hit by the lack of workers and the residents who are moving out. News outlets also report on the impact of the pandemic on housing, the courts and commuting in New York.
Politico:
Partially Reopen, New York City Bears Little Resemblance To Its Former Self
Two middle-aged men stood on the corner of Maiden Lane and Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan Monday morning, surveying the quiet calamity: New York City was finally open for business, but their corner of the once bustling neighborhood was a ghost town. “People don’t want to come back to work, I guess,” the manager of Friendly Pizza remarked shortly after 9 a.m. He shifted his face mask to sip coffee from a paper cup he held with a gloved hand, as his workers inside stared at rows of untouched baked goods. “We rely on office people and if offices don’t come back, we’re done.” (Goldenberg, Durkin, Chadha and Toure, 6/22)
The New York Times:
New York Tenants Fearful After Moratorium On Evictions Ends
A moratorium on evictions that New York State imposed during the coronavirus pandemic expired over the weekend, raising fears that tens of thousands of residents struggling in the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression will be called into housing courts, which reopened on Monday. Housing rights groups estimate that in the coming days, 50,000 to 60,000 cases could be filed in New York City’s housing courts. In addition, thousands of cases that were already in progress but were paused in March can now resume. (Haag, 6/22)
The New York Times:
N.Y.’s Legal Limbo: Pandemic Creates Backlog Of 39,200 Criminal Cases
The coronavirus outbreak is putting extraordinary stress on New York City’s judicial system, forcing lengthy delays in criminal proceedings and raising growing concerns about the rights of defendants. Since February, the backlog of pending cases in the city’s criminal courts has risen by nearly a third — to 39,200. Hundreds of jury trials in the city have been put on hold indefinitely. Arraignments, pleas and evidentiary hearings are being held by video, with little public scrutiny. Prosecutions have dropped off, too, as the authorities have tried to reduce the jail population. (Feuer, Hong, Weiser and Ransom, 6/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York City Commuters Return As Phase Two Of Reopening From Coronavirus Lockdown Begins
After more than three months on lockdown, New York City began the biggest phase of its reopening on Monday, bringing a mixture of excitement and unease as some workers returned to their offices and retail businesses resumed in-store shopping. At Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, a thin but steady trickle of commuters exited their trains in the morning, many dressed in office attire for the first time in months. (Li, Yang and Honan, 6/22)
Reuters:
Traffic Jams Signal Return To Normal In New York But COVID-19 Cases Jump Elsewhere
New York City residents, gradually emerging from more than 100 days of coronavirus lockdown, celebrated an easing of social-distancing restrictions on Monday by shopping at reopened stores, dining at outdoor cafes and getting their first haircuts in months. (Caspani and Layne, 6/22)
