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MEET A MASTERPIECE ◄CITY ARTS, P.12
MANAGING THE UNKNOWN
PUBLIC HEALTH
New York’s elected officials take on a crisis that has shredded the fabric of everyday life BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
The Archdiocese of New York is encouraging Catholics to attend mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral “virtually” by watching the live stream of the service on the church’s website. Photo: Bro. Jeffrey Pioquinto SJ via Flickr
WITH FAITH AND CAUTION COMMUNITY
How Manhattan’s religious centers are responding to the coronavirus BY JENNIFER DOHERTY
Last Thursday, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency across New York, business carried on more or less as usual at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York at Third Avenue and 96th Street. While attendance at many houses of worship has fallen off amid fears about community transmission of the coronavirus, the pandemic respiratory virus that can be
fatal to seniors and individuals with pre-existing health issues, the faithful are still coming to pray, Sheikh Saad Jalloh, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center, told Straus News. The center had canceled its Islamic Seminar, an annual conference that draws approximately 1,000 people, just days ahead of its scheduled start date, but regular worshippers trickled in and out of the masjid, pausing to leave their shoes at the door or slide them back on. A few men with disabilities lingered near the center’s north gate seeking zakat, the practice of charity to the
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At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo likened our world to a snow globe. Like a child, the coronavirus pandemic has shaken our world and turned it upside down. “It’s all chaotic and things are flying all over,” Cuomo said. “There’s new information and there’s mixed information, and people don’t know what to do when businesses are closing and the rules change every minute.” As of Tuesday morning, 1,374 positive cases of corona-
of coronavirus in New York will occur in 45 days, on May 1. He also said the growth rate of the virus is currently unsustainable for the state’s health care system. New York will need 55,000 to 110,000 hospital beds and 18,600 to 37,200 ICU beds at projected peak, he said, and the state currently has 53,000 hospital beds and 3,000 ICU beds. He said this suggests that the state will need to make more efforts to reduce the curve as well as efforts to expand health care capacity.
I think the President was 100 percent sincere in saying that he wanted to work together. Right now, you need to see government at its best.” -Governor Andrew Cuomo virus had been confirmed in New York, with 644 of those in New York City. From those cases, 12 deaths have been reported. And 19 percent of those cases, the governor said, have resulted in hospitalization, which is four percent higher than the typical average. Cuomo said expert projections show the expected peak
Working with the President As for expanding the state’s health care capacity, Cuomo said New York needs help from the federal government to build temporary hospital infrastructure and to obtain medical equipment such as ventilators and beds. “I am telling you, this [state] government cannot meet this crisis without the resources and capacity of the federal government,” said Cuomo. “We need their help, especially on the hospital capacity issue. We need FEMA.” The governor added that earlier in the morning he spoke with President Donald Trump, who, the day before, criticized Cuomo, saying the governor needed “to do more.” Cuomo struck a different tone at the press conference, saying he and the
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday, March 16, 2020, when he announced a series of steps to reduce the curve of coronavirus infections, including a partnership with New Jersey and Connecticut. Photo: Darren McGee- Office of Governor via Flickr
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WEEK OF MARCH
19-25 2020 INSIDE
CITY SAYS ‘OUI’ TO FRENCH LESSONS FOR PRE-K Teaching the third most common language spoken on the Upper East Side to the youngest students has been a longtime of goal parents, educators and officials. p. 2
BREAKING THE CORONAVIRUS CHAIN Infographic: How to prevent the virus from spreading. p. 6
PORTRAIT OF NEW YORKERS IN A CRISIS The novel coronavirus is greeted with a classic mix of anxiety, gallows humor and a rolling series of adaptations. p. 7
FROM THE LAB TO WALL STREET In honor of Women’s History Month, the third and fourth profiles in a Straus News series saluting women whose paths to posterity passed through city neighborhoods. p. 19
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WEEK OF APRIL
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL
presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration a lay point of view,” lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders separate a in and then, how he arrived his decision, detailing Visitors to the blog at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want unthey whether really want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiArbitration Man, suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in actions the owners, policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s quantitative give us the first with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step problem. the xing fi of deformality for To really make a difference, process is a mere complete their will have to to are the work course, the advocaterising rents, precinct, but chances-- thanks to a velopers looking find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout lives on who problem. Angelo, vexing most said Mildred construction permits gauge what Buildings one of the Ruppert said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She on the Over the past is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever Every New Yorker clang, tion Act tangible signs go as they please. work between early, and some come metal-on-metal can construction any small sound: the or on the weekend, have no respect.” the piercing of progress. For many can’t come p.m. and 7 a.m., the hollow boom, issuance of these business owners, that moving in reverse. as after-hours. The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
Newscheck
for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
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