Your guide to phase one of NYC’s reopening
TIMESLEDGER | 12 QNS.COM | JUNE 12-18, 2020
here are the major sectors
of the New York
City economy that will
reopen Monday, and
how it will affect you:
Construction
The long-missed
sound of jackhammers
hitting concrete have
resumed under phase
one, with building
equipment, building
finishing, foundation,
structure and building
exterior contractors all
permitted to get back to
work.
The types of projects
that will resume include
non-emergency highway,
bridge and street
construction (emergency
work was permitted
during the New York
PAUSE), land subdivision,
nonresidential
building construction,
residential building
construction and utility
system constructions.
But all workers will
need to socially distance
and wear face masks
while on the job to prevent
the possible spread
of COVID-19. Some
other mandatory regulations
on construction
sites include limiting
the number of workers
in confined areas; limited
equipment sharing;
regular daily cleaning
and disinfection of the
job sites; and providing
hand hygiene stations.
Manufacturing/
wholesale trade
Machines started
humming in factories
and warehouses across
the city with the resumption
of manufacturing
and wholesale trade in
the following fields on
Monday: apparel, computer
and electronic
product, electric lighting
equipment, fabricated
metals, furniture and
related product, leather
and allied product, machinery,
nonmetallic
mineral product, paper,
petroleum and coal
products, plastic and
rubber products, printing
and related support,
textiles and wood.
As with construction,
there will be limits
to the number of workers
who can gather in a
certain space. Workers
will be required to wear
face masks. In-person
gatherings will be limited;
events such as conference
calls must take
place in well-ventilated
areas.
Each business must
designate drop-off/pickup
sites to limit contact
and loitering. Employers
must provide free
masks to their workers
and establish hygiene
stations. There will also
be limits with regard to
sharing equipment.
Retail
A litany of non-essential
retailers were
also cleared to lift the
gates on their brick-andmortar
businesses —
yet it is not be business
as usual for both clerks
and customers alike.
The retailers that
will reopen in June include
clothing stores,
direct selling establishments,
electronic/appliance
stores, electronic
shopping and mail-order
houses, furniture and
home furnishing stores,
florists, general merchandise
stores, health
and personal care
stores, jewelry/luggage/
leather stores, lawn and
garden equipment/supplies
stores, office supplies/
stationery/gi f t
stores, used merchandise
stores, shoe stores,
sporting good retailers,
hobby shops, musical
instrument stores, book
stores and other miscellaneous
retailers.
All in-person sales
must occur through
a curbside or in-store
pickup station. Browsing
through the stores is
off-limits to customers;
in other words, you’ll
need to call in your order
or place it online in
advance. Retailers can
only employ enough
workers to operate the
pickup station.
Store personnel
must wear face masks
at all times and be kept
6 feet apart, or separated
by plexiglass partitions
if it’s impossible
to meet that social distancing
limit. Customers
picking up items
must stand in a queue
with designated markings
to keep all separated
by 6 feet.
As with manufacturers,
retailers must set
up designated pickup/
drop-off areas for deliveries
and limit in-person
gatherings.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
After nearly three
months, New York City
is starting to make its
comeback from COVID-
19.
On Monday, June 8,
the five boroughs entered
the first phase
of reopening following
the pandemic. About
400,000 New Yorkers
are returning to work
in various trades that
have been suspended or
severely curtailed for
weeks.
But no one heading
back to work this week
should expect to find
the New York City that
existed before the first
COVID-19 case was
detected here back on
March 1. There will be
plenty of restrictions,
both in and out of the office,
designed to protect
workers, employers and
customers alike from
becoming potentially
infected with the illness.
The MTA also
ramped back up toward
regular service on Monday,
according to acting
New York City Transit
President Sarah Feinberg.
Subway and bus
service was reduced in
late March after ridership
plunged by 90
percent; the MTA implemented
an altered
“Essential Service”
plan to keep essential
workers across the city
moving.
While regular subway
and bus service
will come back online,
the MTA will continue
overnight closures of
the transit system for
disinfection until further
notice, Feinberg
said Friday. The alternative
service program
for essential workers
will remain during the
overnight periods.
With that in mind,
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