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| Pandemic May Force New York City to Lay Off 22,000 Workers | Pandemic May Force New York City to Lay Off 22,000 Workers |
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| Mayor Bill de Blasio and other top officials warned on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic was putting tremendous stress on the finances of government in New York City, raising the prospect that they might have to carry out some of the most sweeping layoffs of municipal workers and cuts in infrastructure spending in decades. | |
| The bleak financial picture threatens to hamper New York’s recovery even as it emerges from a brutal lockdown that shut down businesses and brought the city to a virtual halt for three months after it became an epicenter of the pandemic. | |
| The alarms from New York officials reflect a broader political strategy — threatening deep cuts as part of their effort to pressure Washington to provide more assistance. And New York City’s predicament speaks to the dire fiscal situation of states and localities across the nation. | |
| With the coronavirus siphoning as much as $9 billion in tax revenue from New York City, Mr. de Blasio said on Wednesday that the city might have to lay off or furlough 22,000 municipal workers this fall. | |
| “We are running out of options here,” the mayor said. “That is the blunt truth.” | “We are running out of options here,” the mayor said. “That is the blunt truth.” |
| The same morning, the state-run transit agency announced that it would suspend its much-heralded $54 billion plan to modernize the city’s antiquated transportation system. | |
| The move comes as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the city’s subway and buses, pushes for $3.9 billion in federal emergency funds to help the agency survive the largest financial crisis in its history. | |
| “To be clear this is a four-alarm fire,” said Patrick J. Foye, chairman of the M.T.A., on Wednesday. “We are facing the most acute financial crisis in the history of the M.T.A.” | |
| Mr. de Blasio described the layoffs and furloughs as a potentially necessary move in light of substantial budgetary shortfalls brought about by the pandemic’s steep reduction in business activity. | Mr. de Blasio described the layoffs and furloughs as a potentially necessary move in light of substantial budgetary shortfalls brought about by the pandemic’s steep reduction in business activity. |
| As the pandemic has continued to paralyze New York’s economy, the administration’s estimates of its own budget shortfalls have continued to rise, forcing the city to plan for spending cuts in numerous areas. The mayor said the administration was now looking for another $1 billion in savings. | As the pandemic has continued to paralyze New York’s economy, the administration’s estimates of its own budget shortfalls have continued to rise, forcing the city to plan for spending cuts in numerous areas. The mayor said the administration was now looking for another $1 billion in savings. |
| Mr. de Blasio said he was talking with municipal labor unions in the hope of finding savings that would forestall layoffs from a city work force that numbered 326,000 by the end of 2019, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. | Mr. de Blasio said he was talking with municipal labor unions in the hope of finding savings that would forestall layoffs from a city work force that numbered 326,000 by the end of 2019, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. |
| That includes an expansion of nearly 30,000 in Mr. de Blasio’s administration, said Andrew Rein, the commission’s president. | |
| Mr. Rein noted that Mr. de Blasio will have to grapple with even more significant out-year budget shortfalls, even if these layoffs go through. | |
| The city hasn’t seen layoffs since 2012, when City Hall laid off fewer than 1,000 employees, the commission said. | |
| While criminal justice advocates have called for a $1 billion cut to the New York Police Department’s budget, they would like to see that funding distributed elsewhere, not eliminated from the budget entirely via mass layoffs. | |
| “We’re often told we can only get jobs or justice,” said Anthonine Pierre, deputy director of the Brooklyn Movement Center, via text. “The hard work of the mayor is to figure out how to provide both.” | |
| Mr. de Blasio has sought authority from Albany to take on debt for operating costs, though state legislators have seemed reluctant to grant him that authority. Some interpreted his announcement today as a means by which to exert leverage on Albany legislators to take action. | |
| On Monday, the mayor suggested that it would be foolish to hold out for further relief from Washington lawmakers. | On Monday, the mayor suggested that it would be foolish to hold out for further relief from Washington lawmakers. |
| “For weeks and weeks, we all had the hope that there would be a federal stimulus plan by now,” Mr. de Blasio said. “It’s quite clear that’s not happening.” | “For weeks and weeks, we all had the hope that there would be a federal stimulus plan by now,” Mr. de Blasio said. “It’s quite clear that’s not happening.” |
| The M.T.A.’s sweeping capital program, the largest in the transit agency’s history, was hailed as a much-needed transformation of the century-old system after years of disinvestment had plunged it into disrepair. | |
| Updated June 24, 2020 | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| It includes installing modern subway signals, purchasing more than 1,900 new subway cars and 500 electric buses, and adding elevators to 70 stations across the vastly inaccessible subway system. | |
| But after revenue used to keep the system running from fares, tolls and dedicated taxes vanished almost overnight because of the pandemic, the future of the project was thrown into uncertainty. | |
| “The simple fact is that the capital program of the M.T.A. is frozen because of uncertainty about how much money is going to be available,” said Janno Lieber, head of the authority’s capital construction. The suspension of the capital plan was reported by The City. | |
| At the same time, the agency’s plan to implement the country’s first congestion pricing plan — which would charge people driving into the busiest parts of Manhattan — has stalled in the face of federal inaction on necessary approvals. The revenue from that proposal was supposed to support the MTA’s modernization plan, too. | |
| In March, the authority received a nearly $4 billion federal bailout to cover initial revenue loss, and New York transit officials have lobbied for another $3.9 billion in emergency federal funds. The agency projects that it is facing a $10 billion deficit over the next two years. | |
| On Wednesday, transit officials said that they are also considering job cuts, fare and toll increases, and service reductions in order to weather the financial crisis in the years to come. | |
| As a stopgap measure to ensure trains continued to run, New York lawmakers opened the door for the M.T.A. to use revenue set aside for improvements to the system to help cover its operating costs — an option Albany seems unwilling to offer City Hall. | |
| So far, the authority has not dipped into that funding. But shelving the capital program indefinitely suggests that transit officials plan to do so if the agency does not receive another federal bailout. | |
| “This is not hyperbole: The M.T.A.’s projected losses are catastrophic,” said Rachael Fauss, a senior research analyst at Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group. “Without federal funding, they have to resort to options that include opening the capital lockbox.” | |
| Delaying the already overdue upgrades outlined in the capital program, though, risks eroding service for many years to come. | |
| “Momentary cuts in investments — especially in an old system that needs state of good repair investment — have dramatic long term consequences,” Mr. Lieber said. “Service gets unreliable, things break down and our customers feel the consequences.” |