- The Four Seasons hotel on New York's swanky Billionaires Row will house medical workers for free during the coronavirus outbreak, according to a press release from New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
- The governor's office said it will be the first of several hotels to house healthcare workers.
- The hotel is located on New York's most expensive street, which is dominated by luxury skyscrapers and empty penthouses owned by billionaires.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Four Seasons hotel on Manhattan's Billionaire Row will be used to house nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel free of charge, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday. As detailed in Cuomo's press release, the hotel will be the first of several hotels in New York to house healthcare workers at no cost to those workers.
"The 350 room hotel will provide medical personnel currently working to respond to the coronavirus outbreak lodging free of charge," the governor's office said in the press release. In Chicago, empty hotel rooms are already being used to house coronavirus patients and those awaiting test results.
The hotel is located on the swanky Billionaires Row. As Business Insider's Katie Warren previously reported, Billionaires' Row includes a set of eight ultra-luxury skyscrapers along the southern end of Central Park in Manhattan, including Central Park South, which was the most expensive street in the city in 2019. Condos there start at around $3 million and can fetch upwards of $60 million. The strip boasts record-breaking sales by billionaires, including the $238 million penthouse Ken Griffin purchased in 2019 — but many penthouse units sit empty as billionaires add them to their portfolios. As of 2019, it was the most expensive street in New York City.
New York City currently has 30,811 positive coronavirus cases and 285 deaths, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. Doctors in New York City treating coronavirus patients have already been forced to reuse masks due to low supplies, and the governor has already issued warnings about running out of hospital beds and ventilators. New York City has projected it will need 110,000 to 140,000 beds during the outbreak's peak — it currently has 53,000.
The NY Post reports that Ty Warner, the chairman of the company that owns the Four Seasons, offered up the hotel after listening to Cuomo during his press conferences. The hotel won't be taking reservations until April 15.
"Many of those working in New York City have to travel long distances to and from their homes after putting in 18-hour days," Warner said in a statement, according to the NY Post. "They need a place close to work where they can rest and regenerate. I heard Governor Cuomo's call to action during one of his press conferences, and there was no other option for us but do whatever we could to help."
Business Insider reached out to the Four Seasons and the governor's office for comment and did not immediately hear back.
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