Cuomo to Speed Up Work on Penn Station and LaGuardia Airport

(Bloomberg) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo said his administration will now focus on reopening its economic engine, New York City, the only state region still on lockdown.

The economy will need government help to bounce back, Cuomo said, so the state plans to fast-track its plan to rebuild Penn Station while “ridership is low and while we need the jobs.” It will also accelerate LaGuardia Airport renovations, and wants to run power cable from Canada to New York City to develop the renewable market upstate and satisfy the need downstate.

“Let’s stop talking and let’s start doing,” Cuomo said at a press briefing.

Cuomo said the state must “supercharge” its reopening, with accelerated infrastructure programs to create jobs. The state will need federal approval for some projects, and Cuomo says that is one of the issues he will discuss when he meets Wednesday with President Donald Trump in Washington.

“There is no better time to build than right now,” Cuomo said. “You need to restart the economy.”

The Mid-Hudson region will restart beginning Tuesday, and Long Island will take steps tomorrow. New York City was hardest hit by the novel coronavirus, and its recovery has been the toughest, Cuomo said Tuesday.

Statewide, New York reported its fewest new hospitalizations and fatalities since the outbreak began. About 200 people were admitted for Covid-19, down from a peak of more than 3,400. There were 73 deaths reported on May 25, down from a high of nearly 800.

New York City accounts for more than half the state’s Covid-19 cases. The state plans to focus on the city’s minority communities that have been disproportionately hit by the virus. In some of those zip codes, the infection rate is double the city average, the governor said.

“We want to attack the virus at the source, that’s what we’re going to be doing in New York City,” Cuomo said.

The governor held his briefing at the New York Stock Exchange, where he rang the opening bell. The exchange resumed floor trading Tuesdayin a “smarter” way, with fewer people and more precautions, the governor said.

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