Rethinking Indoor Dining in N.Y.C. |
It’s Tuesday. The New York Public Library’s marble lions, Patience and Fortitude, are now wearing giant blue masks to “set an example.” |
Weather: A high of around 80 with a slight chance of morning showers then thunderstorms later in the day. |
 | | Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo |
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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, worried about the surge in coronavirus cases in the South and the West, decided to forgo the usual chart of new virus cases at his news briefing on Monday. Instead, he unveiled a foam replica of a mountain to illustrate the trajectory of infections in New York State, once a center of the pandemic. |
“We don’t want to climb this mountain again,” Mr. Cuomo said, noting that he would be re-evaluating New York City’s reopening, including plans to allow indoor dining. New guidance is expected to come on Wednesday. |
Hours later, Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey said that indoor dining, which was set to resume in his state Thursday, would be postponed “indefinitely.” |
On July 6, New York City will be the last region in the state to enter Phase 3 of a four-phase reopening plan. The phase is set to allow indoor dining at 50 percent of occupancy; diners must also maintain social distancing. |
New Yorkers are currently limited to takeout and delivery service, or outdoor dining. |
Phase 3 also permits tattoo and piercing parlors, nail salons and other personal care businesses to operate. Outdoor recreational spaces, including basketball courts and dog runs, can also reopen. |
As temperatures warmed this month, New Yorkers — some not in masks — began crowding streets outside bars and restaurants and public spaces. That alarmed Mr. Cuomo as well as Mayor Bill de Blasio, who on Monday expressed reservations about dining in. |
“Phase 3 is moving on pace for Monday, July 6,” the mayor said at a news briefing. “But the indoor-dining element is now in question.” |
Mr. Cuomo is also concerned that out-of-state visitors or returning residents will bring the virus back, prompting a second wave of infections. Last week, he, Mr. Murphy and Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut had announced that anyone arriving from a state currently hard hit by the coronavirus would have to quarantine for two weeks. |
The unease over a possible resurgence of the coronavirus in the New York area is warranted. In recent days, states and cities across the country have paused or rolled back reopenings after spikes in cases. |
On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California rescinded the decision to reopen bars in seven counties, including Los Angeles. And in Florida, the city of Jacksonville said on Monday that face coverings would now be mandatory in any indoor public place where social distancing was not possible. The city is scheduled to host the Republican National Convention in August. |
Texas and Arizona, among other states, are also seeing surges in cases and hospitalizations. Many of those infection clusters were tied to restaurants and bars. |
Extremely low-income New Yorkers have the least chance to receive an apartment through the city’s affordable housing lottery. [The City] |
A statue of Columbus in New Jersey might be replaced with one of Marsha P. Johnson, a pioneering activist for L.G.B.T.Q. rights. [CNN] |
Kennedy Airport is the first airport in the country to have a coronavirus testing facility. [Daily News] |
And finally: When to say ‘I love you’ |
The words “I love you,” spoken for the first time, are milestones that let you know where a romantic relationship stands. |
In one memorable “Seinfeld” episode, Jerry asks George if he told his girlfriend he loved her. “Oh, I had no choice,” he replied. “She squeezed it out of me! She’d tell me she loved me. All right, at first, I just look at her. I’d go, ‘Oh, really?’ or ‘Boy, that’s, that’s something.’ But eventually you have to come back with ‘Well, I love you.’ You know, you can only hold out for so long!” |
Knowing just when to say “I love you” can be difficult for some people. “Just saying those three words too early could complicate the relationship,” said Jonathan Bennett, an owner of Double Trust Dating, which provides coaching, classes and support for those seeking relationships. “On the other hand, if you don’t say it, the relationship might never progress.” |
A study conducted last year by the Ascent, a subsidiary of the financial services company Motley Fool, found that a majority of the 1,012 couples interviewed across the country didn’t tell their partners “I love you” until six months into the relationship. |
Allie Fleder, 32, met Annie Burns, 33, in April 2013 at lesbian night in a gay bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Two weeks later Ms. Felder told Ms. Burns that she loved her over dinner in the West Village. “Allie choked on her wine in shock and thought I was crazy,” Ms. Fleder said. “But she said it back to me the next month and we’ve been saying it every day for seven years.” |
Ms. Fleder is the chief operating officer of SimplyWise, a start-up company that helps people with financial decisions about retirement. Ms. Burns is a film producer for a social impact agency. Both started new jobs during the pandemic. |
“We work crazy hours all week and weekend as we try to build relationships with our new co-workers over Zoom calls, and seek to understand the new realities for our new companies given the crisis,” Ms. Fleder said. “But we feel extremely lucky to be working, while so many of our friends have been furloughed or laid off.” |
It’s Tuesday — share your feelings. |
Metropolitan Diary: Empty seat |
The bus was crowded when my sister Joan and I got on. Standing room only. We grabbed an overhead rail and hung on. |
At 42nd Street, many of the passengers got off, and we were lucky to grab two seats together right behind the driver before a new crowd boarded. |
As the bus, now filled again with standing riders, proceeded, I noticed that the seat next to the one where Joan was sitting was empty. |
One after another, passengers approached the empty seat, looked down and moved on. |
Strange, I thought. Then I looked more closely and saw the reason: There was a ripe banana in the middle of the seat. |
I nudged Joan and warned her that an unobservant person might come along and just plop down on the seat. If that happened, I said, she could wind up with banana purée all over her clothes. |
She picked the banana up carefully and placed it on the window ledge behind the seat. Someone sat there immediately. |
We got off at 21st Street. The banana continued on downtown. |
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