The Wall Street Journal - 20.03.2020

A11A| Friday, March 20, 2020 ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

emerge out of China—New

York City’s unemployment

rate, not seasonally adjusted,

was 3.6%, down from 4.9% a

year earlier.

This week, the state Depart-

ment of Labor has been inun-

dated with calls and is hiring

more than 65 people in Albany

and Binghamton to help the

700 staff members already

dedicated to handling unem-

ployment inquiries.

The department received

159,000 calls by noon on

Thursday alone, and logins on

its website have been averag-

ing 250,000 a day—a 400% in-

crease over normal volume, a

spokeswoman said.

In Connecticut, tens of

thousands of layoffs hit a

workforce that still hasn’t re-

covered all of the jobs lost dur-

ing the recession that began in

2007, even though the season-

ally adjusted unemployment

rate was only 3.7% in January.

Unemployment claims

started climbing last Friday

evening and totaled 56,000 by

Thursday afternoon, according

to the state Department of La-

bor. That is compared with

2,500 for all of last week.

In New Jersey, which added

14,100 jobs in January, unem-

ployment claims jumped 20.6%

for the week ending March 14,

compared with the same week

in 2019. The numbers likely

show just the beginning of

coronavirus-related job losses.

Many businesses, including

casinos, which employ thou-

sands of people in New Jersey,

didn’t close their doors until

this week.

Nationwide, initial jobless

claims increased by 70,000 to

a seasonally adjusted 281,

for the week ended March 14,

according to the U.S. Labor

Department.

Government and elected of-

ficials are scrambling to ad-

dress an economic fallout that

likely will affect all types of

businesses in the coming

months.

In Brooklyn, restaurant co-

owners Max Katzenberg and

Greg Baxtrom said Gov. An-

drew Cuomo should postpone

the state’s Friday deadline for

sales-tax filings so business

owners could make payroll.

The co-owners laid off more

than 60 employees this week

when they closed their two

restaurants, Olmsted and Mai-

son Yaki.

“We need a real sense of ur-

gency from our government to

step in for our hospitality in-

dustry,” Mr. Katzenberg said.

“We need disaster relief.”

Mr. Cuomo’s budget direc-

tor, Robert Mujica, said Thurs-

day that the state is consider-

ing changing the deadline.

Messrs. Katzenberg and

Baxtrom have started a

group—called New York Hospi-

tality Operators, Managers and

Workforce Coalition—to push

for government assistance.

Meanwhile, they are solicit-

ing donations on GoFundMe

for their former workers. Their

page had raised more than

$48,000 toward its $200,

goal as of Thursday afternoon.

“That’s another paycheck

for our employees,” Mr. Bax-

trom said.

Tens of thousands of people
have filed for unemployment
benefits across the tri-state
area this week, with layoffs
likely to continue as busi-
nesses remain closed to slow
the spread of the coronavirus.
The job losses mark a sharp
turnaround for a region that
was seeing robust employment
growth before the pandemic
prompted the governors of
New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut to order many
businesses closed and restau-
rants and bars restricted to
takeout and delivery.
Hospitality workers likely
make up the bulk of this first
wave of layoffs linked to the
health crisis, with some res-
taurant owners appealing for
donations to help their unem-
ployed workers.
Danny Abrams and Cindy
Smith, who co-own six Man-
hattan restaurants with a sev-
enth under construction,
closed them all after brunch
Sunday and told employees
they could take whatever food
they wanted from the large
walk-in refrigerators. About
275 workers were laid off, said
Mr. Abrams, whose restaurants
include four Mermaid Inn loca-
tions, Pizzeria Sirenetta and
JG Melon.
“It was devastating to see
these guys who don’t have a
big safety net leaving with
eggs and milk and cheese and
crying,” Mr. Abrams said. “To
think that the last paycheck I
was able to give them was the
last money they’re able to see
for a little while, it just devas-
tated us.”
The partners started a Go-
FundMe fundraiser for their
former employees, and by
Thursday had raised more
than $15,000 toward their
$100,000 goal.
In January, the most recent
month for which data is avail-
able—and when news of the
coronavirus was starting to

BYKATEKING

A former employee of Junior’s in Brooklyn left with her paycheck and her son on Thursday. The restaurant is closing due to the virus.

MARK LENNIHAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Like other state leaders

around the country, New York

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been

on the front lines responding

to the coronavirus crisis—and

is winning over some critics

with his management.

Without clear guidance

from federal officials, the 62-

year-old Democrat shut

schools, bars and Broadway

theaters, pushed through

emergency legislation and

canceled mass gatherings.

He has provided daily brief-

ings on New York’s rising num-

ber of confirmed infections

that are a mixture of sober

context about the risk of the

virus, updates about the latest

efforts to increase hospital and

testing capacity, exhortations

or excoriations of people who

could help but aren’t doing

enough, and a reminder to

think about your mother.

The outbreak in the state is

the worst in the U.S., and Mr.

Cuomo’s actions have attracted

national attention. He was fea-

tured on CBS’s “60 Minutes”

after establishing the country’s

first containment zone in

Westchester County’s New Ro-

chelle. He is a ubiquitous pres-

ence on TV and radio shows.

“This is the high form of

competence for an administra-

tion,” Mr. Cuomo said in an in-

terview. “This is the epitome

of government leadership—the

right tone, the right mobiliza-

tion, the right experience.”

During his nine years in of-

fice, Mr. Cuomo has been criti-

cized for tempering lofty parti-

san goals into more moderate

achievements in the name of

pragmatism. He has been called

brusque. At times his policies

are announced before details are

fully worked out. Rules or peo-

ple who might stand in his way

have been stiff-armed, belittled

or ignored, state officials say.

Critics have called him a

Machiavellian schemer, think-

ing several moves ahead to

bolster himself and undercut

any enemy. He is a self-de-

scribed control freak. In the

last election, Mr. Cuomo’s op-

ponents cast him as an imperi-

ous bully. But in interviews

this week, some former foes

said these attributes have

been of service as he has fo-

cused on the coronavirus.

“It’s uncharted waters, and

he’s providing the leadership

necessary in what is a very try-

ing time for us all,” said

Dutchess County Executive Marc

Molinaro, a Republican who ran

against Mr. Cuomo in 2018.

Billy Easton, an education-

funding activist and adviser to

actor Cynthia Nixon’s 2018

Democratic primary challenge

to Mr. Cuomo, finds the daily

briefings comforting and said

Mr. Cuomo has “been com-

manding and controlling in a

good way.” A top strategist for

Ms. Nixon, Rebecca Katz, said,

“I think Andrew Cuomo is

meeting this moment.”

Steven M. Cohen, who was a

top aide to the governor during

his first term, said that in an

era where ideological lanes de-

fine politics, Mr. Cuomo’s po-

litical brand—someone experi-

enced in getting things done—

looks more appealing. “This is

not Andrew rising to the mo-

ment, this is the moment ris-

ing to Andrew,” he said.

Mr. Cuomo’s sometimes bold

approach has surfaced recently.

On Monday, the governor

and President Trump had a

sharp Twitter exchange, after

Mr. Cuomo pushed the Repub-

lican president in a Sunday

letter to provide federal assis-

tance to increase the number

of hospital beds in the state.

Mr. Trump said Mr. Cuomo

should “do more.”

Then they spoke by phone.

On Tuesday morning, Mr.

Trump said the conversation

was “very productive.”

By Wednesday, the president

dispatched a U.S. Navy hospital

ship to New York and Mr.

Cuomo met with officers from

the Army Corps of Engineers.

BYJIMMYVIELKIND

Cuomo’s

Bold Moves

Win Some

Critics Over

‘It’s uncharted

waters, and

he’s providing

the leadership

necessary in

whatisavery

trying time.’

most companies to work re-

motely, a more severe step

from his mandate on Wednes-

day for businesses to keep half

their workforces at home.

“We have been taking in-

creasing steps on density re-

duction because the numbers

have been increasing” he said

in his morning briefing.

Mr. Cuomo urged the fed-

eral government to step in to

help build more ventilators

and other medical equipment.

“We have a real equipment

problem,” he said in a televi-

sion interview. “The way we

needed missiles in world wars,

we need ventilators.” The

state has about 5,000 ventila-

tors but needs 30,000, Mr.

Cuomo said later.

Mr. de Blasio said at a press

briefing Thursday that the

city’s hospitals had enough

supplies to last through the

end of March. However, he

called on the federal govern-

ment to provide 3 million N

masks, 50 million surgical

GREATER NEW YORK

masks, 15,000 ventilators and

25 million each of surgical

gowns, gloves and other hos-

pital supplies.

“We are seeing an explosion

in the number of cases here in

New York City,” he said. With-

out needed supplies at hospi-

tals, the city is “going to have

an extraordinary problem first

half of April.”

The governor also intro-

duced efforts to ease the fi-

nancial burden on residents as

the virus cripples New York’s

economy. He asked banks to

waive mortgage payments for

90 days, without a negative ef-

fect on credit scores, and he

has ended late fees and waived

overdraft fees at banks.

“This is a real life benefit.

People are under tremendous

economic pressure,” Mr.

Cuomo said.

Meanwhile, Mr. de Blasio

said Thursday that the city

plans to release 40 inmates to

avoid the spread of coronavi-

rus in jails. The inmates were

either facing minor charges or

had health conditions.

The mayor had previously

said the city was trying to bal-

ance public safety with health

concerns. City officials said

Wednesday that an inmate and

two staffers at the Rikers Is-

land jail complex had tested

positive for the virus.

The number of confirmed
cases of the novel coronavirus
in New York City more than
doubled to 3,954 on Thursday,
as a blitz of testing began to
reveal the true spread of the
disease around the state, city
officials said.
The number of virus-related
deaths in the city rose by 15 to
26, according to Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s office.
The entire state had at least
4,152 coronavirus cases as of
Thursday morning, state
health data showed, but the
numbers are changing rapidly.
The increase in cases came
as the state tested more than
8,000 people overnight and
tightened restrictions to re-
duce density throughout New
York.
The state is currently up to
7,500 tests a day, with more
than 22,000 people tested,
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in
media briefings Thursday.
To help slow the spread of
the outbreak, Mr. Cuomo or-
dered 75% of employees at

BYKATIEHONAN

NYC Cases More Than Double

Increased testing

reveals the scope of

the coronavirus, with

3,954 positive results

People checked in to a new drive-through coronavirus testing unit at the South Beach Psychiatric

Center in Staten Island on Thursday. The state has significantly increased testing for the virus.

MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS

Widespread Layoffs Devastate Tri-State Region

New Jersey lawmakers gave
final passage to a package of
bills addressing the growing
impact of the new coronavirus
outbreak, providing assistance
to schools, workers and em-
ployers.
The state Senate approved
more than a dozen bills with
wide bipartisan support on
Thursday. The state Assembly
passed the measures Monday.
The package aims to help
employees who have lost
wages and employers who are
facing plummeting business
after the shutdown of many
parts of the state’s economy to
help curb the virus’s spread.
The number of virus cases in
New Jersey rose by 318 on
Thursday for a total of 742. The
state also reported four deaths,
bringing the total to nine.

At a news conference, Gov.

Phil Murphy said he expects

the numbers to rise through

community spread and an ag-

gressive expansion of testing.

“These numbers, I am certain,

sooner than later, are going to

go into the many thousands,”

he said.

Mr. Murphy, along with

other governors in the North-

east, ordered movie theaters,

casinos and bars to close ear-

lier this week and restricted

gatherings to 50 or less.

The New Jersey governor

expanded state restrictions

Thursday, ordering barber

shops, hair and nail salons

and tattoo parlors to shut

down.

Mr. Murphy also signed an

executive order postponing

some local special elections

and school-board elections to

May 12, the same day as state-

wide municipal elections. All

of those elections would be

conducted solely by vote-by-

mail ballots.

The governor said there

would be no changes to the

statewide primary scheduled

for June 2, but he may recon-

sider.

One piece of legislation

passed on Thursday, gives Mr.

Murphy the authority to issue

an executive order during a

public-health emergency that

halts all evictions and foreclo-

sure proceedings. The Demo-

cratic governor said he would

sign the measure. “No one

should fear being kicked out

of their home in the middle of

an emergency,” he said.

The governor said he would

quickly review the other bills.

One measure authorizes the

New Jersey Economic Devel-

opment Authority to award

grants to small businesses.

Another bill creates an unem-

ployment program for work-

ers who get the coronavirus to

claim lost wages.

A separate measure would

give local food banks in New

Jersey $15 million. Tax filers

will be given a one-month ex-

tension to file income and cor-

poration business tax returns.

Schools would be permitted

to give students takeaway

meals or meal vouchers if they

are eligible for free or reduced

lunch. Schools in the state

have been closed since

Wednesday.

Senate President Steve

Sweeney, a Democrat, said he

anticipates more legislation to

address the outbreak.

“This is the first wave,” he

said. “Of course there is going

to be more legislation that is

needed as we go forward be-

cause we’ve never been in this

situation before. Things are

going to pop up, and we’ll

need to address them.”

Robert Garrett, chief execu-

tive of Hackensack Meridian

Health, which operates 17 hos-

pitals in New Jersey, said they

currently have 500 patients

awaiting test results and have

had 121 positive cases.

“This will tax our clinical

and human resources like

we’ve never seen before,” Mr.

Garrett said.

BYJOSEPHDEAVILA

N.J. Lawmakers Pass Virus-Relief Package

‘This is the first

wave...There is

going to be more

legislation,’

NY