- (March 21) New York has 10,356 coronavirus cases statewide. NYC has 6,211 positive cases total, 1,803 new cases since midnight last night. 1,603 cases, roughly 15%, of all cases in New York have resulted in hospitalization, which is lower than the 20% original projection.
- Effective on March 22 at 8 p.m.: All businesses and not-for-profit entities in the state shall utilize, to the maximum extent possible, any telecommuting or work from home procedures that they can safely utilize. Each employer shall reduce the in-person workforce at any work locations by 100% no later than March 22 at 8 p.m.
- Any essential business or entity providing essential services or functions shall not be subject to the in-person restrictions. Guidance on which businesses qualify as essential can be found here.
- There shall be no enforcement of either an eviction of any tenant residential or commercial, or a foreclosure of any residential or commercial property for a period of ninety days.
- Effective at 8 p.m. March 20, any appointment that is in-person at any state or county department of motor vehicles is cancelled, and until further notice, only on-line transactions will be permitted.
- The authority of the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance to abate late filing and payment penalties pursuant to section 1145 of the Tax Law is hereby expanded to also authorize abatement of interest, for a period of 60 days for a taxpayers who are required to file returns and remit sales and use taxes by March 20, 2020, for the sales tax quarterly period that ended February 29, 2020.
- FEMA has issued a “major disaster declaration” for New York State. This action opens access to a nationwide pot of $42 billion in aid from the Disaster Relief Fund.
- The New York Workers Compensation board has issued guidance in response to the novel coronavirus.
- Attorney General Letitia James is urging employees to file complaints against employers ignoring NYS Executive Orders.
- Empire State Development has published the following resources:
- Office of People with Developmental Disabilities: Revised Interim Guidance Regarding the Delivery of Services through the Use of Telehealth Modalities by Facilities and Programs Certified or Operated by OPWDD During COVID-19 Emergency
Attached please find a comprehensive document with guidance from across government agencies. We will be updating this document as information becomes available and including it in our daily updates.
In addition to regular email updates, Ostroff Associates has established two dedicated webpages that will be updated in real time with any new information from government sources relating to COVID-19. Please use these websites as a resource and share with others who would benefit.
Update Page: https://www.ostroffassociates.com/covid-19-updates/
News Page: https://www.ostroffassociates.com/category/covid-19/
Executive Order 202.9: Directs banks to delay mortgage payments for 90 days for any person or business who is experiencing hardship due to the COVID-19 Disaster. The order requires the Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services to promulgate emergency regulations to ensure that applications for the forbearance be widely available to consumers, and approved in all “reasonable and prudent circumstances”.
The Governor has issued Executive Order 202.9 which allows customers of New York chartered banks a 90-day forbearance of payments on their mortgage if they are affected by COVID-19 related hardships. The order also affects fees for the use of automated teller machines (ATMs), overdraft fees, and credit card late fees. Please find the Executive Order here.
Governor Cuomo yesterday announced a new Executive Order to ensure uniform safety of everyone, which includes a 10-point plan that outlines new guidelines for social distancing including the closure of non-essential businesses effective 8pm on March 22nd. More information on that plan can be found here: www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-new-york-state-pause-executive-order.
Note again that hotels and places of accommodation have been specified as essential businesses and exempt from the requirement of having 100% of their employees work from home; for more details see https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026.
A note from Ross Levi, Executive Director and VP of NYS Division of Tourism, Empire State Development:
We recognize that these changes greatly impact the tourism industry and NYS is currently assessing options to mitigate hardships to NYS businesses. Empire State Development has recently created a portal with resources for businesses to submit comments and questions, as well as an FAQ sheet for businesses impacted by the Coronavirus to provide guidance during these uncertain times which are available at: esd.ny.gov/esd-covid-19-related-resources.
Following Governor Cuomo’s formal request to the federal government for disaster relief, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be issuing Economic Injury Disaster Loans for businesses across NYS that have been impacted by the Coronavirus. The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
For more information on SBA assistance, visit https://esd.ny.gov/resource-guide-covid-19-sba-disaster-loans and www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources.
While NYS does not administer these loans or guarantee eligibility, it’s important that businesses that are applying for a loan keep clear records of losses, and make sure to have prior year statements as a reference point. We’ve attached two handouts with more information on the SBA loans and process which you might find helpful.
ATTACHMENTS:
Small Business Association Disaster Assistance Resources for Businesses Statewide
