The Obvious: COVID-19 has been on all our minds, all the news,

and all over the world.

What I am about to indicate here already feels somewhat “old instructions” - at least the part about individual showings. Virtual videos will still be possible. My newsletter is not written in one day and sent off. Over the course of writing this, we have modified its content numerous times.

My sense is we will be in total lockdown any minute now...

To adjust to the changing circumstances, the real estate community is, for now, moving towards video/virtual tours and individual showing appointments, taking into account the precautions below:

• Confirm with all parties that no one is feeling symptoms and/or has come in contact with someone believed to be feeling symptoms of the virus. 
• Ask people to remove shoes.
• Ask those coming into the home to immediately wash their hands or provide them with disinfectant when they arrive.
• Advise people in the home not to touch anything or come into contact with the objects in the home
• Make sure not to get too close to those in the home and attempt to stay at least 6 feet from them when possible.
• Do not show the home to multiple people at once.

My dear friends and clients in Italy & China, who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic, say the best thing to do is believe in the contagious factor and chaos of this virus and just simply stay at home. STAYING HOME is the best defense for yourself and others and stopping the further and continued spread of this virus.

If you are not sure what to believe since apparently the Federal Government is not providing any real guidance (until this morning FINALLY!), take heed on what has occurred in Italy and now Europe and STAY HOME. My people in China have been home since January and they are coming out of this siege of COVID-19. 

Being “safer”, cannot hurt.

CDC Guidelines

Be Smart. Be Safe. Be Healthy. 

“New York state agreed to delay enforcement of a ban on plastic bags set to take effect Sunday until April 1, after a lawsuit was filed Friday challenging the new law. At a court hearing, a lawyer representing the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation agreed not to levy any fines related to the ban, according to a court order. A plastic-bag manufacturer and an association of New York City bodega owners sued the DEC, saying regulations about exactly which types of bags were banned were inconsistent with the law adopted last year.” (Wall Street Journal)

Click HERE to read the full article on WSJ.

“Stretching a full block — from Park to Lexington Avenues, and from East 49th to East 50th Streets — the 47-story Waldorf, in its reconfigured form, includes 375 condos, from studios to four-bedrooms, plus two penthouses.

Below the condos, known as the Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, are 375 hotel

rooms that Hilton will continue to run.

Previously, the hotel, which opened in 1931 and welcomed every president from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama, as well as movie stars, diplomats and musicians, had 1,413 rooms, so units have gotten larger as the total number has been vastly reduced, developers said. And the lighting throughout will be brighter than in the Deco days, when “utterly funereal” interiors were common, Mr. Miller said.”

(New York Times)

“Pol[itician]s slam city for backing developers of 200 Amsterdam”

“New York politicians angry at the city’s decision to support a controversial Upper West Side tower say the position is “shocking” and “defies reason”. ...The appeal, filed Tuesday, came one day after the Department of Buildings clarified that zoning lots can no longer be comprised of partial zoning lots, as was allowed with the 668-foot condominium tower, which is nearly complete.” (The Real Deal)

Click HERE to read the full article on The Real Deal.

Q: What Should My Building Be Doing With Regard to the Coronavirus?

A: The best option you could do for yourself and others would be to stay home and shutdown.

Below is a list of ideas that your building could implement to limit the spread of the virus in addition to cleaning and disinfecting hallways, elevators, and other high traffic areas: 

1. Close all common areas and amenities. 
2. Don’t crowd the elevators - no more than 2 people at a time per elevator.
3. Wipe down surfaces with disinfectant. 
4. Restrict Open Houses. Private appointments only.  
5. Take out deliveries (if they continue): to be dropped off & picked up in the lobby with the exception of Meals on Wheels.
6. Food store deliveries (if they continue): to be picked up from the lobby EXPEDITIOUSLY. Please make sure your contact number is given to deliverer.
7. All USPS, UPS, FedEx etc. packages to continue to be delivered to lobby. 
8. Discourage all large deliveries/moves. If absolutely necessary, clear with super or lobby for specific logistics.
9. If you are currently having work done in your apartment or if you have submitted an application for work to be done in your apartment, these jobs should be temporarily suspended.
10. All non-essential work orders to be placed on hold. 
11. Laundry Room: if possible provide gloves in the laundry rooms. Implement a laundry room schedule to encourage and ensure social distancing. 
12. Social distancing: all residents should limit guests, visitors, and “play groups”, and congregating with each other.
13. Close commercial/freight entrances. 
14. No bulk trash to be thrown out (furniture/mattress, etc).
15. If you happen to test positive for the virus, notify your building’s management immediately.

Below is a NY Times Article from March 10, 2020. What a difference a week makes.

"What Should My Building Be Doing to Prevent Coronavirus?"

“Q: I live in a large Manhattan apartment building and I’m increasingly worried about the risk of contracting coronavirus in the lobby and other common areas. What should my building be doing to keep residents safe?

A: Buildings can and should take steps to limit the possibility of transmission, not to mention make their residents and staff feel safer. They should be cleaning and disinfecting high-traffic surfaces like front-door handles and elevator buttons, as well as common rooms, like gyms and laundry rooms. They can also station hand-sanitizer around the building, which could be particularly useful with supplies running low in stores. They could also post signs encouraging residents to be vigilant about keeping their homes disinfected and to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze and to wash their hands frequently.” (New York Times)

Click HERE to read the full article on NYT. 

The EDGE roof deck at 30 Hudson Yards is now open! 

“Rising 1,131 feet tall (345 meters) from the heart of Hudson Yards, Edge is designed to take visitors out of their comfort zone to experience New York like never before. Edge is the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere extending out 80 feet from the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards.” (NYC Insider Guide)