On Monday, June 8, 2020, unrestricted construction resumed in New York City. Even projects considered non-essential or otherwise exempted can restart. However, this does not mean that a project can simply forge ahead without thought or consideration. The State of New York , the New York City Department of Buildings, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control all have various requirements and guidelines for site safety in order…

On May 31, 2020, following Governor Andrew Cuomo’s issuance of Executive Order 202.35 on Friday, May 26, 2020, New York’s Empire State Development (“ESD”) updated its guidelines for construction projects across the state. Construction is a Phase One industry, and while certain parts of the State have already entered Phase One of recovery/reopening, New York City and much of the southern portion of the State has not yet met the criteria to begin reopening…

As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic continues to have devastating effects on our nation’s economy, particularly for small businesses and restaurants struggling to make ends meet and stay afloat, relief has become available for certain personal guarantors of NYC commercial leases.  On May 26, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law Section 22-1005 of the NYC Administrative Code, which prohibits the enforcement of personal liability provisions in commercial leases involving COVID-19 impacted tenants. Pursuant to…

From the start of the unprecedented closure of the New York State Courts to new, “non-essential” filings until yesterday, commercial tenants had no remedy against a landlord seeking to terminate a lease as a result of a covenants or payment default.  The so-called Yellowstone Injunction, named after a 1968 Court of Appeals case, has protected tenants served with a notice of termination for over 50 years by preserving the status quo and staying any cure…

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order #142 on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, permitting suspended non-essential construction projects to resume starting, Monday, May 18, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. In his briefing this afternoon, Governor Murphy commended the efforts and progress the State has made to date against the spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While careful to note that the crisis is not over and that diligent social distancing efforts remain crucial, the…

Since first issuing declarations of emergency in early March, the Governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have been coordinating their COVID-19 response measures fairly closely, in recognition of the physical proximity and economic dependency of their States. Each State is among each other’s top trade partners, and hundreds of thousands of people cross state lines for work every day (including over 400,000 residents of New Jersey and Connecticut who commute into New York…

As we previously blogged, the New York City Council has introduced an expansive COVID-19 relief package, which includes a proposed bill requiring large “essential businesses” to pay premiums to certain essential, non-salaried workers. Specifically, the proposed legislation would apply to “essential businesses,” as defined by the Empire State Development Corporation in accordance with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.6, that employ (or are permitted to employ) 100 or more persons.  Under the proposed legislation,…