Brooklyn Coronavirus Update and Open Thread: Rents Are Due, How Bad Can It Get? (4/29/20)

We’re in the seventh week of sheltering in place and the 27th day of home schooling for New York City schools.

The first of the month is Friday, and rents and mortgages are due, as Governor Cuomo moves to ease restrictions somewhat in rural areas of New York State but not in New York City. A hot spot for COVID, the city has about a fifth or 20 percent of the official coronavirus deaths in the U.S. so far — and the actual numbers are likely much higher.

Published photographs show subways in Brooklyn and beyond filled with homeless people who, much to their credit, appear to be social distancing more than would be possible in a shelter.

Hardest hit economically by the shutdown are the types of mom and pop businesses for which Brooklyn is known and which makes it unique. First-quarter numbers are out, and they are the worst since 2008, but next quarter’s numbers are likely to be as bad or worse than they were in the Great Depression, according to experts surveyed by The New York Times.

They no longer expect a quick “v-shaped” rebound, and now everyone’s wondering “how deep the damage will get — and how long the country will take to recover,” as the Times put it. Fingers crossed the city can ease restrictions starting in summer in work situations unlikely to spread the virus. In news likely to bring relief to children and their families, the City Council signaled it is looking at ways to safely keep beaches open through the summer.

Unfortunately, thanks to the way aid has been structured, the longer the shutdown continues, more businesses will go bankrupt, more people will be out of work, more bills and loans will go unpaid, and the risk to the entire financial system grows.

What are your thoughts, and how are you weathering the shutdown? What do you think should be done in Brooklyn to combat the spread of the virus and blunt the damage to local businesses and jobs? Please feel free to comment in a respectful manner (please, no personal attacks, nothing libelous). If you are not already logged in, go up to the top right hand side of the page and log in to be able to comment.