Virus Cases in State Top 30,000

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc.html

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It’s Thursday.

Weather: Bright, with a high in the mid-50s.

Alternate-side parking: Suspended through Tuesday because of the coronavirus. Meters are in effect.

Though the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York State continues to grow quickly and has now topped 30,000, Governor Cuomo said yesterday that there were early signs that stringent restrictions on social gatherings and other measures could be slowing the virus’s spread.

[How Governor Cuomo, once on the sidelines, became the politician of the moment.]

Mr. Cuomo highlighted data that showed slowing hospitalization rates. On Sunday, the state’s projections showed hospitalizations doubling every two days, while Tuesday’s estimates showed them doubling every 4.7 days.

[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]

Mr. Cuomo said the $2 trillion stimulus package making its way through Washington would be “terrible” for the state. The legislation passed the Senate late yesterday, and is expected to be passed by the House tomorrow. New York’s government would get $3.6 billion, the governor said, not enough to bridge the virus-related budget gap the state is facing.

Mayor de Blasio went further, calling the deal “immoral.” He said New York City would be getting only $1 billion, despite having one-third of the country’s virus cases. Citing various projections, the mayor also said at least half of all New Yorkers could contract the virus.

As of yesterday, New York State had more than 30,000 confirmed cases. That was more than 7 percent of the nearly 463,000 worldwide tallied by The Times. The state had at least 325 deaths. New York City had about 20,000 confirmed cases, and at least 280 deaths.

State officials projected they would need 30,000 ventilators, of which they had 4,000 as of yesterday. Mr. Cuomo said 7,000 more ventilators had been procured, in addition to 4,000 ventilators sent by the federal government.

[Thirteen deaths in a day: An “apocalyptic” surge at a Queens hospital.]

The first virus-related death of a homeless New Yorker was confirmed. A man who had been living in a shelter died after being hospitalized for several days, officials said yesterday.

Measures adopted to stop the spread of the virus in New York appear to have put a dent in crime, New York City’s police commissioner said. Mr. de Blasio, however, has noted a surge in bias attacks aimed at the city’s residents with Asian heritage, and he has urged the victims of such crimes to contact the police.

New Jersey announced that it had more than 4,400 cases, including more than 60 deaths.

Virus Rules Let Construction Workers Keep Building Luxury Towers

The Wealthy Flee Coronavirus. Vacation Towns Respond: Stay Away.

A Promoter’s Screen Tests Involved Sex on Camera, Lawsuits Charge

Roosevelt Avenue Goes Dark

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

New York City animal shelters are running out of cats and dogs for people to foster. [Bloomberg]

A masked subway rider was seen hanging off the side of a train in the Bronx. [Daily News]

Two Trader Joe’s locations in Manhattan closed after workers tested positive for the coronavirus. [TimeOut New York]

The Times’s Michael Kimmelman writes:

Weeks ago, back when New Yorkers were starting to shelter at home but it was still kosher to get a little fresh air and take a walk, I invited a few people to suggest modest strolls, one on one, around places meaningful to them.

The goal? Distraction, joy and a chance to describe how buildings speak — historically, personally and differently to different people.

The walks are to be consumed vicariously, from home, via text and images, not on foot. They’re a reminder that, even besieged, the city amazes, endures, awaits.

David Rockwell is first. He elected to look at Broadway’s hibernating theaters.

Winner of a Tony, an Emmy and a James Beard Award, he founded the New York-based Rockwell Group, which designed over 70 productions on and Off Broadway, as well as hotels, restaurants and other institutions around the world.

On a cool, sunny Sunday, we met outside the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street. The conversation has been edited.

[Broadway is shuttered, but its buildings sing: Take a virtual tour.]

The theater is closed. What do you have in mind?

Entrances are important with all architecture, of course, but on Broadway it’s where a lot of things are set in motion, drama-wise. A good example is the New Amsterdam, built in 1903. In 1913 it took off as the home of the Ziegfeld Follies, with a risqué nightclub on the roof.

The New Amsterdam has this teeny entrance onto the street. A person has no idea there’s a massive theater behind here.

Now we’ve walked back west to the heart of Broadway.

We’re now standing on 44th Street in front of the Shubert Theater, which shares its facade with the Booth to the north along Shubert Alley.

The two theaters were conceived together. They use a wonderful kind of Venetian rustication framing deeply carved details made with layers of colored cement called sgraffito.

[The Tony Awards were postponed because of the virus outbreak.]

One last stop?

I wanted to end at Studio 54. It opened as an opera house. I find it interesting that theaters are so resilient. They can have many lives.

It’s Thursday — tour your city.

Dear Diary:

It was Sunday morning, and I had just missed the M15 local. I didn’t want to take the express bus because I wanted to use my two-hour free transfer. But I also didn’t want to wait forever for the next bus, so I started to walk downtown.

I had walked about 10 blocks when I decided to stop and wait for the next bus after all.

“Excuse me,” a woman with a British accent at the bus stop said. “Do you mind telling me what perfume you’re wearing. It’s smells so lovely.”

“I’m not wearing any perfume,” I replied. I looked around. There was no one else nearby. “You mean my essential oils! I made the combination myself. It’s one drop of patchouli and one drop of lavender.”

It had been about 30 minutes since I applied my face cream, and it felt like it had already faded away. It had been about six months since I lost my job. It had been about 12 months since I lost my mom. So, I was feeling down on myself.

At that moment, though, I didn’t have to corral anyone for the compliment. It just came to me. I was recognized for being authentically me.

— Cindy Ng

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