Brooklyn Coronavirus Update and Open Thread: Phased Reopening, the 'New Normal' (5/5/20)

We’re in the eighth week of sheltering in place and the 31st day of home schooling for New York City schools.

How and when might NYC reopen? Cuomo said Monday it will happen when NYC meets seven criteria, such as having enough intensive care beds and contact tracing, and take place in phases.

The first phase will start with construction, manufacturing, and stores that will offer curbside pickup. Next will be professional services and businesses such as insurance, stores and real estate. The third phase will include restaurants and hotels. Schools and cultural institutions such as museums and movie theaters make up the final stage.

Some business leaders speculated the professional services phase could take place in September, with restaurants opening for sit-down service toward the end of the year, according to The Real Deal.

Iconic Brooklyn speciality grocer Sahadi’s has changed its business thanks to the virus but is still operating, and they have settled in for the long haul, said Christine Sahadi Whelan, one of Sahadi’s owners, last week in a blog post titled “The New Normal.”

Doctors are seeing what appears to be a striking and disturbing new face of the virus emerge in young children, who show no signs of infection but then experience inflammation of all their blood vessels, including their heart. So far, 15 children with the syndrome have been hospitalized in New York City, The New York Times reported.

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.