The Wall Street Journal - USA (2020-12-02)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Wednesday, December 2, 2020 |A10A

In its five-decade history,

the Chamber Music Society of

Lincoln Center hasn’t only

been a mainstay at its name-

sake New York venue, it also

has proved itself a cultural

road warrior, giving concerts

in 17 countries and 42 states

in the U.S.

And the organization hasn’t

ceased its traveling, pandemic

or no pandemic.

On Wednesday, the group

launches a 10-day tour of Tai-

wan with seven of the 100-

plus musicians on its roster

performing works by such

masters as Beethoven, Haydn

and Ravel in various venues. It

is a remarkable effort, given

how few artists are touring

these days in the U.S. or

abroad because of closed con-

cert halls and travel restric-

tions.

But as society co-artistic

director Wu Han said, the cur-

rent tour was scheduled more

than a year ago and she likes

to keep her commitments.

“I’m not going to cancel on

anybody unless they cancel on

me,” she said in a video call

last week from Taiwan.

Along with her fellow art-

ists, Ms. Wu, a Taiwanese na-

tive who lives in New York,

was completing a 14-day quar-

antine before the start of the

tour, a requirement for foreign

visitors.

That is just one of many

hurdles Ms. Wu and the other

musicians have faced.

For starters, the trip to Tai-

wan was initially part of a

larger Asian tour that in-

cluded concerts in Japan and

China. But when the pandemic

made visiting those countries

problematic—in the case of

China, the events were can-

celed—the organization had to

deal with the challenge of

making a Taiwan trip, with a

limited number of engage-

ments, a viable financial prop-

osition.

Fortunately, the Taiwanese

presenters, whose venues are

indeed open, helped by secur-

ing more bookings and finding

other ways to defray the costs,

“The Taiwanese said, ‘Let’s

find a way,’ ” Ms. Wu added.

It is a point reiterated by

Serene Hu, one of the present-

ers. She said the tour is signif-

icant in terms of continuing

what has become an annual

tradition, with this being the

fourth consecutive year the

society has visited Taiwan.

She said the visit signaled

something greater to music

lovers and others in Taiwan,

which has seen very low infec-

tion rates during the pan-

demic but has still maintained

numerous precautions.

“It’s important to continue

this cultural exchange but also

to reinforce the notion that

we are living normal lives,”

Ms. Hu said by email.

Like so many other New

York City cultural groups, the

society has seen its regular

schedule upended by the pan-

demic, with all its Lincoln

Center dates canceled.

The group has persevered

with various online initiatives,

including offering live con-

certs performed in the city

without an audience.

It also has cut its approxi-

mately $9 million annual bud-

get by about a third to help

weather the crisis, according

to Executive Director Suzanne

Davidson.

Ms. Davidson said she

wasn’t surprised the group

wanted to make the trek to

Taiwan, noting that society

members have been known to

drive through blinding snow-

storms to make engagements.

“Chamber musicians are a

different breed,” she said of

their determination.

BYCHARLESPASSY

Musicians Take Show to Taiwan

Artists with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performed Tuesday in Taipei ahead of a tour.

TEY TAT KENG

New York City’s health
commissioner on Tuesday ad-
vised older residents and peo-
ple with underlying health
conditions to avoid non-essen-
tial activities outside their
homes as the number of
Covid-19 hospitalizations in
the city reached a level not
seen since early June.
At-risk New Yorkers could
still go to the grocery store,
work and school, but should

BYKATIEHONAN

GREATER NEW YORK

limit their interactions with

other people, according to city

health officials.

New Yorkers who live with

or care for vulnerable resi-

dents also are urged to reduce

nonessential activities outside

their residences.

Dave Chokshi, the city’s

health commissioner, said at a

news conference that the lat-

est data show the number of

Covid-19 hospitalizations in

the city surpassed 1,100—more

than double the number less

than three week ago.

“This escalation unfortu-

nately follows a tragically fa-

miliar pattern—cases grow,

hospitalizations follow, and

sadly too many result in criti-

cal illness or even death,” Dr.

Chokshi said.

The daily share of Covid-

tests in the city that were pos-

itive was 5.72% on Sunday, ac-

cording to the most recently

available city data.

The city’s seven-day aver-

age positivity rate was 4.14%,

the data show. On Oct. 1, the

daily positivity rate was 1.52%,

and the seven-day average

positivity rate was 1.59%.

The statewide number of

Covid-19 hospitalizations in-

creased by more than 200 in a

single day to 3,774, state offi-

cials said Tuesday. Of the

146,675 tests processed on

Monday by the state, 7,285, or

4.96%, were positive.

“The numbers are going

up,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said

Tuesday on a conference call

with reporters.

“The number one priority

when you get into this situa-

tion—hospitalization, and

overwhelming the hospitals,”

he added.

Mr. Cuomo said he supports

New York City’s advisory for

vulnerable residents.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said at

a news conference on Tuesday

that the city is better prepared

for a Covid-19 surge than it

was in the spring.

Mitchell Katz, the chairman

of New York City’s public-hos-

pital system, said at the same

news conference that the sys-

tem has made improvements

since the spring’s surge such

as creating dedicated space

with special air filters for

Covid-19 patients.

Currently, the system’s in-

tensive-care units and medical

surgical wards are two-thirds

full, Dr. Katz said. The system

also has a three-month supply

of personal protective equip-

ment, he said.

“We’re not overwhelmed at

any of our 11 hospitals,” Dr.

Katz added.

Mr. de Blasio has warned

that tougher lockdown restric-

tions could come this week if

cases continue to rise. Those

restrictions would come from

the state.

To slow the spread of the

virus, the mayor has encour-

aged all New Yorkers to get

tested. Testing locations have

been expanded across the city.

Ahead of the Thanksgiving

holiday, the city added testing

locations at airports and train

and bus stations.

Health officials expect in-

fections to increase this month

after residents returned from

the Thanksgiving weekend and

people gather during the com-

ing holiday season.

The governor has said most

viral spread isn’t occurring in

schools, restaurants or stores,

but rather at residential gath-

erings. And Mr. Cuomo agrees

with the mayor’s plan to re-

open schools on Monday for

students in kindergarten

through eighth grade.

—Jimmy Vielkind

contributed to this article.

Older Residents Urged to Stay Home

New York City health

commissioner’s advice

is announced as

hospitalizations soar

The airline, like its peers,

has been rocked by the pan-

demic.

Delta reported a combined

net loss of $12.4 billion for the

second and third quarters of

2020, according to the bond

documents. About 17,000 of its

91,000 workers have taken a

voluntary buyout or early re-

tirement package.

Last week the airline

reached a deal with the union

that represents its pilots to ac-

cept reduced pay in exchange

for job security.

A spokeswoman for the air-

line referred The Wall Street

Journal to recent statements

made by Delta Chief Executive

Ed Bastian that the company

expects to achieve positive

cash flow by the spring of

2021.

The Port Authority says

passenger volumes at New

York City’s three major air-

ports are down between 65%

and 71% through September of

this year, compared with the

same period last year.

International gateway air-

ports such as JFK are expected

to recover more slowly than

smaller airports, according to

a Dec. 1 outlook released by

Moody’s Investors Service.

Passenger boardings at Ter-

minal 4 fell almost 70% during

the first nine months of 2020

to about 2.5 million people

from about 8.2 million people

during the same period last

year, according to the bond

documents.

The terminal operator said

in the bond-offering statement

that it has cut its on-site

workforce in half and that its

executives have taken volun-

tary pay cuts.

A consultant’s forecast in-

cluded in the bond-offering

statement said that in a best-

case scenario passenger num-

bers at Terminal 4 could re-

turn to pre-pandemic levels by

2022, while under a worst-

case scenario the recovery

could take until 2024.

Moody’s, in a November

credit opinion, stated that a

pessimistic scenario is more

likely because of the terminal’s

high exposure to international

travel.

Terminal 4, which opened

in 2001, is one of JFK’s newer

facilities. A $1 billion bond of-

fering is to refinance debt

from previous construction.

James May, the terminal

operator’s chief financial offi-

cer, said in a Dec. 1 statement:

“The bond offering has proved

to be a phenomenal success

with significant investor appe-

tite, confirming investors’ be-

lief in the recovery of the New

York market and the overall

strength of the credit.”

The operator of John F.
Kennedy International Air-
port’s busiest terminal said its
passenger numbers might not
return to pre-pandemic levels
until 2024, leading it to scale
back or delay a planned $3.
billion refurbishment and ex-
pansion.
JFKIAT, which operates
Terminal 4, said in a Nov. 30
bond-offering statement that
it is talking to the agency that
runs the New York City airport
about alternatives such as pro-
viding interim upgrades and
reducing the scope of the
planned terminal refurbish-
ment and 16-gate addition.
The Terminal 4 redevelop-
ment project is part of a $
billion makeover for JFK that
was supposed to be completed
by 2025.
The airportwide redevelop-
ment, which relied for the ma-
jority of its funding on airlines
and private terminal opera-
tors, has stalled during a steep
decline in passengers and a
downturn caused by the pan-
demic.

For now, only the smallest
project, American Airlines
GroupInc.’s almost $400 mil-
lion redevelopment of Termi-
nal 8, is moving ahead.
A spokesman for the Port
Authority of New York and
New Jersey, which runs the
airport, as well as other trans-
portation facilities across the
region, said Tuesday that the
agency is waiting for a re-
sponse to its request for a $
billion federal bailout before it
decides how to proceed with
construction projects, includ-
ing at JFK.
“This project would lever-
age billions of dollars in pri-
vate capital, and we are work-
ing hard to preserve this
private investment,” said the
spokesman, Ben Branham.
Terminal 4 accounted for
about one-third of JFK’s 62
million passengers last year.
The terminal is a hub for
Delta Air LinesInc., which
holds a minority stake in the
terminal operator, which is led
by Netherlands-basedRoyal
Schiphol Group.
Also operating out of Ter-
minal 2, Delta plans to consol-
idate all of its services at Ter-
minal 4 in the coming years.

BYPAULBERGER

Slow Recovery Seen

For JFK Airport’s

Busiest Terminal

Nurses at a New Rochelle Hospital Participate in Walkout

PRESSING DEMANDS: Nurses with the New York State Nurses Association walked the picket line Tuesday outside Montefiore New

Rochelle Hospital. They have raised concerns about staffing and the availability of personal protective equipment, a union spokesman said.

MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS

Planned $3.8 billion

overhaul of Terminal

4 will be scaled back

or delayed.

NY