4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 21, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
сoronavirus
City beaches won’t reopen for Memorial Day weekend
BY TODD MAISEL
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
New York City’s beaches will not be
open by Memorial Day weekend due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced Sunday. Th e beaches
will remain open for walking or sitting,
but no groups will be able to congregate
on the shores.
“We didn’t make this decision lightly
and we are watching the indicators. We
will be smart and careful about this. We
are taking it a week and even a day at a
time. So maybe later in the summer we
will open, but we are not ready yet,” de
Blasio said.
Th e mayor warned, however, that if
New Yorkers fail to comply with social
distancing regulations, stricter action
will be taken to block the beaches off to
the public — including erecting 14 miles
of fence along the waterfront, if necessary.
Summer in NYC: Mayor announces COVID-19 heatwave plan
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Th e heat is coming and Mayor Bill de
Blasio fi nally released a plan Friday on
how to help New Yorkers stay cool during
the city’s notoriously sweltering summers.
Th e fi rst phase of the city’s COVID-19
heatwave plan is to spend $55 million to
distribute 74,000 air conditioning units to
low-income systems, with 22,000 of those
units to be installed in New York City
Housing Authority homes.
Priority will be given to those that
are deemed the most in need by the
Department for the Aging, the Human
Resources Administration and the
Department of Housing Preservation and
Development, said de Blasio.
“We know some people bear the brunt
in the heat,” said de Blasio. “It’s the people
that can’t leave their home, even if
they wanted to because of disability or
challenges … certainly mirrors a lot of
what we are seeing with the coronavirus
but the heat has particular elements that
allow us to hone in on those that need
help the most.”
Th e second phase is to provide
450,000 low-income New Yorkers with
summer utility bill subsidies which are
usually about 20 to 30 percent higher
because of air conditioning use, the
mayor said.
Th e city will also petition the Public
Service Commission, which regulates
electric, gas, water and telecommunication
business, to double their current
commitment to subsidies summer bills
and increase customer benefi ts to $160
over the summer.
De Blasio added that his administration
Tracy Lee Francis cools off in a fi re hydrant on Martense Street in East Flatbush on Aug 7, 2018.
would urge the state to allocate its share of
national energy assistance from the federal
CARES Act for the summer months.
Social distancing measures will be
placed in the city’s cooling centers and
Photo Credit: Linda Rosier
the Parks Department will create “misting
oases’’ to cool park goers.
Th e city is developing a plan to open up
some fi re hydrants to provide some relief
from the heat on certain blocks.
“We are always putting health and safety
fi rst and even though it is beautiful weather,
we will be smart about what we allow
and don’t allow,” the mayor said.
COVID-19 cases continue to drop
across the city, but de Blasio made clear
at his Sunday press conference that no
one wants a resurgence of the virus that
would force more draconian measures to
be implemented.
“We are the epicenter of the crisis, and
opening the beaches for Memorial Day is
not the right or safe thing to do,” he said.
Th e city is now training lifeguards for
when the beaches do open to swimming,
but added measures would have to be
taken to assure continued social distancing.
Currently, there were 77 people admitted
to hospitals in the city for COVID-
19 on May 15; there are now 469 people
in ICUs compared to 506 on May 14.
To enforce the rules, the NYPD has partially
restored the special police detail
to Coney Island Beaches as a result of
demand and requests from elected offi -
cials, but will resist giving summonses,
offi cials privately say. Instead, they and
Parks Enforcement Offi cers will distribute
masks to the public and encourage
safe practices.
Normally, 150 offi cers are assigned
to beach detail for Memorial Day, but
instead, sources say only 50 will be
assigned to augment precinct personnel
at the beaches throughout the city to
save money.
Th eir numbers have been increased by
hundreds of school safety agents who
are now assigned to parks and beaches
because schools are closed. Offi cers
were already involved in one water rescue,
and a safety agent was bitten by a dog
on Saturday.
Some police offi cers privately expressed
concern that unarmed school safety offi -
cers would be ill-equipped to deal with
large gatherings and potentially armed
gangs that are expected to descend upon
waterfront communities.
Gang-related violence has been spiking
throughout the city and accounts for
the rise in homicides. Gatherings are still
banned in New York state, but how people
interpret that and how it’s enforced are
spotty at best.
With Memorial Day a week away, the
Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk were
still busy on Saturday, with most people
maintaining social distance on the beaches.
Some people disregarded the gathering
guidelines on the boardwalk.
A few boardwalk concessions were
open for takeout, though in some cases,
social distancing in the lines was disregarded.
Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park opened two
food concessions, with restrictions on the
lines and every employee wearing masks
and gloves.
Deno’s Sweetshop within the amusement
park opened this week, gates allowing
for long lines to socially distance safely.
Ruby’s bar was serving beer for takeout
and Nathan’s opened their food concession
on the boardwalk. Several other concessions
were preparing to open for takeout,
including Tom’s on Stillwell Avenue.
Tony Scotto, an operator of the Wonder
Wheel, was happy that at least concessions
were able to do business, but he wants to
see more. Scotto says the city should allow
them to reopen the 150-foot Wonder
Wheel, which has been giving a vista view
of the city since 1920 and designated a
landmark in 1989.
“Here’s a message to Mayor de Blasio:
Stop putting everybody out of business.
You’re hurting people and taking food off
people’s tables,” Scotto said. “I’m sorry for
the people who are sick and dying, but
the thing is they should open up with regulation.
People should wash their hands
and wear masks. If people are sick they
shouldn’t come here. People should have
the choice of opening up. If people are
afraid to come to a park, they should stay
home. Let’s say you are the owner and you
don’t want to open up because you might
get sick — that should be a choice. Th is is
America.”
Visitors were sitting on the beach, mostly
together with families, with some small
groups of friends sitting or in some cases,
playing volleyball between themselves.
Junior Jablee, originally from Brazil, sat
with his family on the beach and said he
wasn’t too worried.
“We are sitting away from other people
and we are on a beach. Th ere is ultraviolet
light from the sun and they say it kills
COVID,” he said. “We are enjoying the
cool air and everything is just fi ne here.”
“We are just keeping to ourselves. Is it
the smartest idea? I don’t know, but we
had to get out,” said Aaron Collins of
Brighton Beach, who went swimming in
the shallows with his friend’s daughter,
Alexia Greve, 7.
“It’s awesome,” the young Alexia Greve,
a resident of Astoria, Queens, said aft er a
quick dip in the still cold waters. People
were playing music on the boardwalk,
some dancing, but maintaining distance
and wearing their masks.
“We are wearing our masks. We are trying
to stay away from one another and we
are out here in the ocean air,” said Alan
Mounde of Coney Island. “I just can’t stay
inside anymore.”
Photo by Todd Maisel
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
