Reopening New York State

Governor Cuomo reiterated the factors that will guide New York State’s reopening, which will occur regionally and in phases:

  1. Follow CDC guidelines: there must be a 14-day decline in infection/hospitalization rates
  2. Industry Assessments
    1. Phase 1: Construction/Manufacturing – which projects can be accomplished safely?
    2. Phase 2: Identify additional businesses for reopening (prioritizing lower risk services) and prohibit regional “attractive nuisances” – any attractions or openings that could draw a large number of visitors from outside local areas (citing an example, the Governor stated he doubts that the New York State Fair held in late August in Syracuse will be able to operate this year)
  3. What business precautions will be in place, such as social distancing and health monitoring?
  4. In regards to the regional healthcare capacity, a region must have at least 30 percent of hospital beds available after elective surgeries resume while taking into account the upcoming flu season and PPE stockpile.
  5. What is the testing regimen? 
  6. What is the tracing regimen?
  7. What type of isolation facilities are available in the area to quarantine individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19?
  8. Regional coordination in four main categories:
    1. Schools
    2. Public transportation
    3. Testing availability
    4. Tracing capability
  9. Reimagine tele-medicine
  10. Reimagine tele-education
  11. Regional “control rooms” for information gathering and processing
  12. Protect and respect essential workers – provide workers adequate testing and protective equipment, and ensure cleaning/disinfecting of public spaces.

NY Forward Reopening Advisory Board

The Governor announced the formation of the NY Forward Reopening Advisory Board, comprised of 100 business, community and civic leaders who will help guide the State’s reopening efforts. The full list of the Board members can be found at the bottom of this email as well as at the following link.

Reopening of Schools

The Governor expects to make a decision on reopening schools in the State by the end of this week.

New York City

Mayor de Blasio officially announced a new grading policy for NYC public schools due to the coronavirus crisis.  Under the new policy, students in kindergarten through fifth grade will have two grading standards in which students will either receive “meets standards” or “needs improvement.”  Middle school kids in grades 6 through 8 will either receive “meets standards,” “needs improvement” or “course in progress,” which means the student needs more time to finish schoolwork. High school students will continue to receive letter grades but will not be issued failing grades. Rather, a “course in progress” for students who need more time over the summer to complete course requirements.  After final grades have been given out, students and families will have the option of converting any passing spring semester grades from a letter grade into a “pass.” “Pass” courses will not count towards a student’s grade point average.

COVID-19 Numbers                                                     

We continue to appear to be on the far side of the COVID-19 plateau. That said, the number of deaths in the State has increased by 335 since yesterday to 17,638 total.

MEMBERS OF NEW YORK FORWARD RE-OPENING ADVISORY BOARD

  • Quenia Abreu – President New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce
  • Elizabeth Alexander – President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
  • Vincent Alvarez – President, NYC Central Labor Council
  • Ajay Banga – CEO, MasterCard
  • Kathy Behrens – President, Social Responsibility & Player Programs, National Basketball Association
  • Bill Berkley – Chair, NYU
  • Albert Bourla – CEO, Pfizer
  • Elizabeth Bradley – President, Vassar College
  • Kyle Bragg – President, SEIU 32BJ
  • Heather Briccetti – President & CEO, The Business Council
  • Tory Burch – Executive Chair, Tory Burch LLC
  • Gerrard P. Bushell – former President and CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY)
  • James Cahill – President, NYS Building and Construction Trades
  • Wellington Chen – Executive Director of Chinatown Business Improvement District
  • Mario Cilento – President, NYS AFL-CIO
  • Henry Cisneros – Siebert, Brandford, Shank & Co.
  • Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner – President, SUNY Buffalo State College
  • Steven M. Cohen – Former Secretary to the Governor
  • Stacey Cunningham – President, NYSE
  • Vijay Dandapani – President & CEO, Hotel Association of NYC
  • Sonya Del Peral – Nine Pin Ciderworks
  • Mylan Denerstein – Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
  • Alicia Fernandez Dicks – President/CEO, Community Foundation of Oneida and Herkimer
  • James Dolan – CEO, Madison Square Garden
  • Stacey Duncan – Executive Director, The Agency
  • Leecia Eve – Vice President of State Government Affairs, Verizon
  • Bill Ford – CEO, General Atlantic LLC
  • Jane Fraser – President, Citigroup
  • Adena Friedman – President & CEO, Nasdaq
  • Bea Grause – President, Healthcare Association of New York State
  • Jonathan Gray – President & COO, Blackstone Group
  • George Gresham – President, 1199SEIU
  • Horacio Gutierrez – General Counsel, Spotify
  • Sabrina HoSang Jordan – CEO, Caribbean Food Delights, Inc.
  • Maria Imperial – CEO, YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester
  • Shirley Ann Jackson – President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Dr. Amarilis Jacobo – President, National Hispanic Dental Association
  • Jeremy Jacobs Jr – Co-Chief Executive Officer, Delaware North
  • Michele Johnson – YWCAs of Elmira – President of YWCAs NYS
  • René Jones – Chair & CEO, M&T Bank
  • Michel Khalaf – President & CEO, MetLife
  • Pat Kane – Executive Director, New York State Nurses Association
  • Gary LaBarbera – President, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
  • Mary Beth Labate – President, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities
  • Kevin Law – President & CEO, Long Island Association, Inc.
  • Jon Ledecky – Co-Owner, NY Islanders
  • Kewsong Lee – Co-CEO, Carlyle Group
  • Randy Levine – President, NY Yankees
  • Mayra Linares-Garcia – VP of Public Affairs and Communications at Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages
  • Melanie Littlejohn – Chair, Board of Directors, CenterState CEO
  • Joanie Mahoney – Chief Operating Officer, SUNY ESF
  • Carl McCall – Former Chair, SUNY Board of Trustees; Former NYS Comptroller
  • Brenda McDuffie – President & CEO at Buffalo Urban League
  • Cheryl McKissack Daniel – President & CEO, McKissack & McKissack
  • Father Joseph McShane – President, Fordham University
  • Elizabeth Moore – General Counsel, Con Edison
  • Wes Moore – CEO, Robin Hood
  • Marc Morial – President & CEO, National Urban League
  • William J. Mulrow – Former Secretary to the Governor
  • John McAvoy – Chairman, President & CEO, Con Edison
  • Danny Meyer – CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group
  • Dr. Belinda S. Miles – President, SUNY Westchester Community College
  • Frankie Miranda – President & CEO, Hispanic Federation
  • Orinthia T. Montague – President, Tompkins Cortland Community College
  • Candice Niu – Executive Director, China General Chamber of Commerce
  • Ana Oliveira – Chair of Board, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; SVP, NY Retail Market Executive, Investors Bank
  • Kim Pegula – President and CEO, Pegula Sports and Entertainment
  • Elizabeth Peralta – Executive Director, National Supermarket Association
  • Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker – President/CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
  • Charles Phillips – Chair, Infor
  • Martha Pollack – President, Cornell University
  • Ted Potrikus – President & CEO, Retail Council of New York State
  • Ken Raske – President, Greater NY Hospital Association
  • Scott Rechler – CEO & Chairman, RXR Realty
  • Andrew Rigie – President, NYC Hospitality Alliance
  • Linda Brown-Robinson – President, Syracuse Onondaga NAACP
  • Lisa Rosenblum – Vice Chair, Altice
  • Jane Rosenthal – Co-Founder & CEO, Tribeca Enterprises
  • Steven Rubenstein – Chairman, Association for a Better New York
  • Bill Rudin – Rudin Management Company
  • Kevin Ryan – Co-Founder, MongoDB
  • Julie Samuels – President, Tech:NYC
  • Rob Sands – Chairman, Constellation Brands
  • Theresa Sanders – President of the Urban League of Long Island
  • Jaime Saunders – CEO, United Way of Greater Rochester
  • Diane Serratore – Executive Director, Help From People to People
  • Carlo Scissura – President & CEO, NY Building Congress
  • Leonard Schleifer – CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
  • Josh Silverman – CEO, Etsy
  • Lisa Sorin – President, Bronx Chamber of Commerce
  • Rob Speyer – President & CEO, Tishman Speyer
  • Ty Stone – President, Jefferson County Community College
  • Ken Sunshine – CEO, Sunshine Sachs Consultants
  • Steve Swartz – President & CEO, Hearst; Co- Chair, Partnership for NYC
  • Chandrika Tandon – Chair, Tandon Capital Associates
  • Elinor Tatum – Publisher and Editor in Chief, New York Amsterdam News
  • Crickett Thomas-O’Dell – Regional Director, Workforce Development Institute
  • Bill Thompson – Chairman, CUNY
  • Merryl Tisch – Chairman, SUNY
  • Erin Tolefree – Executive Vice President, Baldwin Richardson Foods
  • Elizabeth Velez – CEO Velez Organization & Chair, NY Building Congress
  • Fanny Villarreal – Executive Director, YWCA Syracuse Onondaga County
  • Dennis Walcott – Former NYC School Chancellor
  • John Waldron – President and COO, Goldman Sachs
  • Darren Walker – President, Ford Foundation
  • Peter Ward – President, NY Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO
  • Nicole Wegman – Senior Vice President, Wegmans
  • Anthony Welters – Executive Chairman, BlackIvy Group, LLC
  • Jim Whelan – President, Real Estate Board of New York
  • Jeff Wilpon – COO, NY Mets
  • Tren’ness Woods-Black – Sylvia’s Restaurant
  • Sheena Wright – President & CEO, United Way of New York City
  • Kathy Wylde – President & CEO, Partnership for NYC
  • Jo-Ann Yoo – Executive Director, Asian American Federation
  • Kristine M. Young – President, Orange County Community College
  • Lourdes Zapata – President & CEO at South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation