One hundred days after its first confirmed case of COVID-19, New York City is once again open for business. On June 8, the city — where more than 21,000 have died from COVID-19 since March — enters the first phase of a four-part reopening plan.
That means, as of Monday, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing and construction workers will return to the job. Retail stores previously deemed nonessential — florists, sporting goods, and toy stores, among them — will also be allowed to open for curbside and in-store pickup only. The state has issued a long list of safety guidelines mandating that businesses reduce capacity to 50 percent, provide masks for employees, and conduct frequent cleanings.
The city is expecting 32,000 construction sites and 3,700 manufacturers to spring back to life this week. Some 16,000 retail outlets are expected to open, but many of the city’s largest will not. Here are some sights around New York City as it begins to wake up from its coronavirus-induced lockdown.
While subways ridership is expected to increase this week, the MTA is expecting it to top out at 15 percent of pre-pandemic levels. During the outbreak, ridership was down 90 percent.
If the city doesn’t see a spike in cases over the next several weeks, phase two of the reopening plan will begin. That’s when salons, barbershops, indoor retail, and outdoor dining is allowed to resume.
