N.J. Coronavirus Reopening Stage 2 Starts Today
Here are all the details and restrictions. Three months after New Jersey went into near lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the state shifts into Stage 2 of Gov. Phil Murphy’s multi-phase reopening plan on Monday as health officials watch closely for any possible spike in cases. The biggest change in the second phase is the reopening of outdoor dining at restaurants and bars and allowing shoppers inside nonessential retail stores at half capacity. Murphy also issued several clarifications to the Stage 2 reopening plan on Sunday to include rules for curbside pickup for libraries, yard sales, real estate open houses and car washes. Those activities also resume Monday.
Gov. Murphy Heckled on Live TV Interview
On Asbury Park boardwalk about coronavirus reopening. A heckler got the attention of Gov. Phil Murphy during a live television interview on the Asbury Park boardwalk Monday morning as he discussed the start of Stage 2 of the coronavirus reopening strategy. While talking with Savannah Guthrie of NBC’s “Today Show,” a man who was off camera repeatedly screamed at the governor about how Murphy has handled the reopening of nonessential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. In one part of the man’s rant, he referred to Murphy as a “traitor.” “I don’t know if people can hear — we have a heckler yelling about this very thing,” Guthrie said as the man loudly voiced his displeasure with Murphy. “This rage that people feel about businesses not being opened fast enough — it’s real. Why aren’t you moving more quickly? A lot of business owners say it’s kind of arbitrary. ‘Why can I walk to Home Depot with 100 people, but I can’t have a meal?
Outdoor Dining Begins at The Jersey Shore
Asbury Park complies with order. The first customer was David Mendez, owner of WB Law Coffee Co. in Newark, who took a seat at Toast restaurant and ordered a sausage and pepper omelet with fruit and coffee. Mendez, of Hoboken, chuckled at the idea of being the first to take a seat, at least on Cookman Avenue. Elsewhere on the Shore restaurants were also reopening. Cookman Avenue was not packed with breakfast customers early Monday morning, the first day restaurants were permitted to allow outdoor dining since they were shut down in March to flatten the curve of COVID-19. The city debated defying Gov. Phil Murphy’s order and allow indoor dining. The City Council went as far as passing a resolution to permit restaurant owners to seat patrons inside but backed off when Murphy countered with a lawsuit on Friday.
The High Cost of Panic-Moving
When the going got tough, many residents—and especially the wealthy—got out. When we talk about people leaving America’s biggest cities right now, people largely means the rich. In The New York Times’ analysis of cellphone location data, 420,000 people fled New York City for some period of time from March 1 to May 1. The middle- and high-income people who could leave the city this year can be divided into two basic groups. First, there are the panic-movers, who hadn’t previously considered leaving before the pandemic hit. The second group of movers makes for less exciting trend stories: people who are taking part in normal attrition, of which New York City has plenty—tens of thousands of its residents move away every year.
House Democrats Demand Big Bank CEOs Disclose Documents
About small business loans in coronavirus bailout. House Democrats on Monday wrote to the chief executives of some of the country’s largest banks demanding they disclose documents pertaining to their handling of the federal government’s small business bailout loan program. In letters to the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Santander Bank, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, Truist, Citibank and PNC, House Majority Whip James Clyburn said the subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis is investigating whether the Paycheck Protection Program “has favored large, well-funded companies over struggling small businesses in underserved communities — contrary to Congress’ clear intent.”
Hotels in Pandemic Freefall
Struggle to avoid default. Thousands of hotels facing their worst year on record during the COVID-19 pandemic may have to close for good if they can’t get debt repayment deals, but the few firms that would be able to help are already overwhelmed with requests for aid. Hotel occupancy and revenue have slowed to a trickle since March, and millions of employees have lost their jobs in the months since the virus hit U.S. shores, lawyers say. At the same time, hotel owners are struggling to obtain forbearance on loans, with so many facing the risk of foreclosure that lenders and loan servicers cannot keep up with the appeals for deferred payments. Last month, the American Hotel and Lodging Association reported that lack of debt forbearance, an agreement that lets borrowers temporarily suspend payments, has become a major issue for owners.
Did You Know?
‘A joyous day’: NJ houses of worship reopen after months of coronavirus shutdown. For the past five decades, Ann Tintle has had a second home at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson. It’s where she prays every Sunday, where she brings home-baked banana bread for weekly Bible study, and where she talks about faith, world events and family with her friends. So, nothing was going to keep Tintle, an 88-year-old retired nurse, from going to church this weekend as it opened its doors for the first time in nearly three months after a shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. She pushed her walker through the parking lot and climbed several steps to a side door before taking a seat in pews that were cordoned off with caution tape in every other row. Across New Jersey, houses of worship resumed indoor prayer services this weekend after shutting down in March as COVID-19.
Employee Tip
Homeowners hit by pandemic may get relief from property taxes, insurance. Some 4.75 million homeowners are in forbearance as of May 26 with more than 41 million Americans filing for unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic, making it tough for some to keep up with costs associated with homeownership, like property taxes and insurance. For many people affected by COVID-19, the anxiety of affording their bills has increased. According to TransUnion’s latest survey on the financial impact of COVID-19 on consumers, conducted on May 28-29, 70 percent of respondents expressed concern about how they would pay their bills and loans. This was up from 66 percent the month before. Beyond mortgage forbearance, there are relief options for other costs associated with homeownership.
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