COVID-19: NYC Quote of the Day 2020-05-04

Friday, May 1, 2020, NYC Mayor de Blasio - Open Streets: Social Distancing, Face Coverings, Out for Exercise and Then Get Back

I'm going to talk about the open street's initiative, and this is something I want to thank the city council for their partnership. And it's been worked on, not just with the council but with, of course, the NYPD and Department of Transportation. The open streets are going to be another way we help encourage social distancing, because the warmer weather tells us we're going to have a new challenge and we combine the fact that we have to meet that challenge by understanding where people are going to be. Again, we're going to require social distancing, face coverings, and people only being out for just a period of time they need for their exercise and then get back.

We agreed that we would put together a plan to open 40 miles of streets in May, a hundred miles overall in the course of this crisis. And the focus would be on those streets in their parks because we expect them to attract a lot of people in the warmer weather. We want to expand the parks, if you will, by opening up these streets. And of course, the hardest hit neighborhoods, the place where we've seen this disease have the most devastating effect. So today we'll announce the first seven miles (over seven miles, in fact) of these open streets and these will all be opening on Monday. 4.5 miles are inside parks, they are areas that will now be devoted to pedestrians, bicyclists. Callahan-Kelly Park, Forest Hill Park, Fort Tryon Park, Flushing Meadows Park, Grant Park and Silver Lake Park. And then 2.7 miles of streets that are adjacent near parks that'll help to expand and affect the parks. And that will be Carl Schurz Park, Court Square, Highbridge Park, Lieutenant William T. Triangle, Prospect Park, Stapleton Waterfront Park and Williamsbridge Oval.

That's the beginning and we're going to build out from there. This is going to help people to have some more space, but also with vigilant eyes to make sure there's no gatherings - there are no attempts by people to create a sports or group activities. We're not going to allow that; we're going to keep making sure people socially distance and keep making sure people have face coverings and anyone that doesn't happen to have one, more and more, someone will be offering you one out on the street if you don't have one.
Edited for redundancy, grammar, and emphasis
Prior Quote of the Day - Next Quote of the Day

Back to COVID-19: NYC Resources

This page © 2020 Barry Drogin