THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR REALTY REALITY. From Houlihan-Lawrence. May 12, 2020:

NYC buyers, now in their seventh week of working from home in their now too small apartments, are searching for homes north of NYC with an increasing preference for outdoor amenities.

Based on a review of online search terms conducted by Houlihan Lawrence
for the month of April, the first full month impacted by the COVID-19
health crisis, buyers are searching for distinctively non-urban lifestyle
amenities like “fenced yard” and “garden” to more luxury-driven amenities
such as “tennis courts” and “paddocks.”

“As the leading brokerage north of NYC, Houlihan Lawrence has been at the
forefront of data and the insights it reveals for decades. Our recent analysis
of property search data indicates a shift in buyers’ wants and needs. Online
searches for outdoor amenities are a strong trend and an early indicator of
the changes we will experience in property preferences as this crisis plays
out,” said President and CEO Elizabeth Nunan.

Inquiries from NYC buyers are increasing as the duration of the pandemic
may be longer than originally projected. Additionally, the rapid adoption of
work from home has allowed buyers to expand their search to locations that have longer commute times and offer larger parcels of land – both appealing choices as buyers’ priorities and preferences shift.

Nunan adds, “The current crisis has been defined by the speed and abruptness of change. It is rare to  see trends evolve in real estate this quickly, but one’s home has played an outsized role in this crisis and buyer needs and wants are changing at a similar pace.”

The data also suggest that buyers want amenities previously sourced outside the home on their own property in a post-COVID world. Search terms like “pool,” “basketball court” and “outdoor kitchen” were top trending search terms in April on the Houlihan Lawrence website compared to a year ago. Other trending keyword searches include “mountain view,” “paddock” and “fenced yard.”

“We looked to data in the past to help us navigate changing markets. In 2001
after 9/11 and during the financial crisis of 2008, we were uniquely
positioned to help guide our clients through the uncertainty with data-based insights. As we navigate this health crisis, we once again will use our
proprietary data to help understand the changes in consumer attitudes and
intentions,” says Nunan.

WPCNR GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO MOTHER’S DAY BRIEFING. By John F. Bailey. May 10, 2020 UPDATED 3 PM WITH LATEST STATISTICS STATEWIDE (END OF ARTICLE):

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Mother’s Day Briefing this afternoon confirmed in the News Reporters’ “Q. & A.” that some upstate regions would be announced tomorrow as cleared to reopen May 15, the end of the NY Pause period.

He said he would have representatives of the counties being authorized to reopen at tomorrow’s briefing. In response to a “Q. & A,” reporter’s question about New York area, the Governor said, “if you take Westchester and Rockland out, downstate cannot open (New York city boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk ) and Dutchess County would not be included” ) due to not meeting the criteria as of today.

As of Friday, Westchester’s hospitalization rate and total cases appeared above the threshold for reopening.

In the Briefing today,  the Governor revealed there are now 85 cases of the new disease causing inflammation of blood vessels in children, now being investigated by the State Department of Health with 10 new cases of the new disease  reported since yesterday. The Governor reported that another child has died, bring the number killed by the new affliction to 4.

The link to Covid is that all 85 cases of the new condition were coronavirus positive before they contracted the new disease, according to Dr. Howard Zucker, NYS Commissioner of Health, as he says in the video below:

In the “Q. & A.”, a reporter asked since there were so many symptoms would parents be confused: This is what Dr. Howard Zucker, Commissioner Zucker responded:

The Governor announced new rules for nursing homes procedures going forward the most prominent being that hospitals would not be allowed to return a Covid-19 positive person to a nursing home that sent their patient to a hospital for other conditions, and was found in the hospital to be COVID-19. The state is now mandating nursing home workers have to be tested for the coronavirus twice a week.

The governor announced that any nursing home unable to care for a COVID-19 patient and continued to do so, would lose their license. 

The Governor described in his briefing that nursing home deaths are a national issue, showing a chart of states already showing more nursing home deaths than New York. The governor said New York is 34^th in the country in nursing home deaths due to COVID-19.

The governor said the press corps covering the nursing home situation of “collectively”  misrepresenting the state nursing home rules the last three weeks, despite explicit explamations, and then not explaining the policy properly to the public (that if a nursing home is incapable of caring for a nursing home resident who has COVID-19, they are required by law to call the Health Department and the Department will find a COVID treatment facility.  Reporters ask the same question about the nursing policy virtually every briefing.

In his briefing, the Governor announced that congress was reconvening to discuss more COVID aid to the states. He announced a new figure of the revenues and expenses the state has incurred over the last 3 weeks: $35 Billion. He stated congress cannot bail out corporate America again as the government did in 2008 when banks were made whole for their losses in a mortgage “scam.”

He also said, the corporations benefiting from government aid now for Covid losses, have been telling analysts that they are going to come back “leaner.” The Governor, rhetorically, asked “What does this mean? It means they are not going to rehire employees.” The Governor proposed that corporations who refuse to bring back their employees, should forfeit any aid they have received otherwise they are using the aid to build profit.

 In the “Q & A.” no reporter asked about how corporations could rehire employees when their business demand has fallen dramatically. No reporter asked if there were any financial instruments the governor was considering to fund the state losses other than cutting Education, Health and Counties/Municipalities 20% across the board,  if Washington aid was not forthcoming.

On the way out of the “Q. & A” a reporter shouted to Governor Cuomo on Mr. Cuomo’s way out, if he had been tested for COVID antibodies. The Governor said, he did not believe he had been exposed to COVID, so there was no reason for him to have antibodies.

The Governor also announced the new possible covid-19 effective drug Remdesivir would begin being administered to New York covid patients.

The Department of Health and Human Services has sent New York enough antiviral to treat 2,900 people at 15 hospitals and will send more doses in the coming weeks to treat 500 more patients, including children, at additional New York Hospitals.

Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,273 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 335,395 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 335,395 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows ( LOCAL COUNTIES ARE IN BOLD FACE TYPE: