Four Seasons to house New York City medical personnel

The Four Seasons hotel in Manhattan will provide free rooms for medical personnel responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday. 

Cuomo said it is the first of many hotels he hopes will offer up rooms to healthcare workers. 

“The Four Seasons Hotel on 57th Street will provide FREE lodging to doctors, nurses & medical personnel currently working to respond to the #COVID19 pandemic. Thank you @FourSeasons,” Cuomo tweeted. “The first of many hotels we hope will make their rooms available.”

The Four Seasons Hotel on 57th Street will provide FREE lodging to doctors, nurses & medical personnel currently working to respond to the #COVID19 pandemic.

Thank you @FourSeasons.

The first of many hotels we hope will make their rooms available.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 25, 2020

Ty Warner, the chairman of the self-named company that owns the hotel, said he offered the hotel to the state after he heard Cuomo’s call to action during his daily briefings. 

“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 to NBC New York. “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.”

“The New York State Nurses Association thanks Ty Warner and the Four Seasons New York for stepping up for the nurses – it means a lot to see people helping first responders who are working day and night during this worldwide pandemic,” Pat Kane, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association, said in a statement. 

The hotel had previously closed down for regular business and will not be taking new reservations until at least April 15. 

Cuomo ordered all nonessential businesses in the state to shut down as of Monday as the city grapples with the pandemic.