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Cuomo Holds Off On De Blasio's Plan To Close Businesses In NYC Hotspots, Saying He Will Review ZIP Code Data
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 5, 2020
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Kathy Willens/AP/Shutterstock
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 5, 2020
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Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that roughly 300 schools, both public and private, in nine New York City ZIP codes with surging coronavirus infections would close on Tuesday. "The only course is to run to those embers and stamp them out immediately and dramatically," the governor said, referring to the hot spots.
While Cuomo's school closure will occur one day earlier than Mayor Bill de Blasio's own proposed targeted shutdown plan, the governor held back on approving the closure of non-essential businesses in the ZIP codes, which the mayor had advocated for. Cuomo said the state needed a chance to drill down on the geographic data.
"I believe we can draw better lines than a ZIP code," Cuomo said during a press conference in Midtown Manhattan. "Let's get a better template."
The governor has repeatedly criticized New York City and other local governments for failing to enforce the state's coronavirus restrictions, bringing up bars and restaurants as an example. On Monday, he reiterated that he was unhappy with the city's handling of the crisis, and said that the state would carry through on a threat he made last week of taking over enforcement in certain local governments, which he said would have to provide the state with personnel.
"We have to be more aggressive. I understand it's not politic," Cuomo said. "But I also understand you will see people die if you don't do more enforcement."
Cuomo also singled out large religious gatherings as being one of the main causes for the spread of the virus, and said he would close houses of worship if they violate the state's religious gathering rule, which currently limits indoor capacity to 50%.
"We know mass gatherings are the superspreader events. We know there have been mass gatherings going on in concert with religious institutions in these communities for weeks," Cuomo said, showing photos of huge crowds at ultra-Orthodox events. "What did you think was going to happen?"
However, one of the photos in Cuomo's slideshow was from 2006, a spokesperson for the Governor later confirmed, attributing the mistake to "a staff error."
Yet there have been widely documented incidents of mass gatherings in Orthodox communities in recent months, in violation of New York's pandemic restrictions. Cuomo declined to impose any immediate restrictions on these events, and said he would meet with leaders from the Orthodox communities on Wednesday to get the message across.
"I have to say to the Orthodox community tomorrow, if you're not willing to live with these rules, then I'm going to close the synagogues," Cuomo said. "I have had a 30 year relationship with the Orthodox community. I have a very close personal relationship with them. This is the last thing that I want to do."
Cuomo also said he was not closing schools in Rockland and Orange Counties, which have considerably higher infection rates than the troubling ZIP codes in the city, and also have very large ultra-Orthodox communities. "We may close those schools, we don't have the same level of problem," Cuomo said, when asked about the discrepancy.
The governor said he came to these conclusions after a conference call on Monday morning with Mayor de Blasio, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and the head of the teachers' union, Michael Mulgrew.
On Sunday, in what would be the first major setback to the city's reopening, de Blasio had proposed shutting down all schools and non-essential businesses in the nine ZIP codes in South Brooklyn and a portion of central Queens, as well as Far Rockaway that have average positivity rates of above 3%. The citywide coronavirus positive test rate is around 1.72%.
De Blasio said that subject to Cuomo's approval, the shutdowns could begin on Wednesday.
But the governor suggested that while he was ready to close schools, which he said did not have adequate testing, he was skeptical that all of the businesses in the ZIP codes needed to close.
Dr. Denis Nash, an epidemiologist at CUNY, said he was worried about whether a limited shutdown would contain the spread of the virus.
"For example, since restaurants and shops will no longer be open in those 9 ZIP codes. Would residents of these neighborhoods become more likely to travel to other ZIP codes, via public transit, to shop or even dine indoors?" he said.
"Something about the city’s strategy here just doesn’t hold together from an epidemiologic and public health standpoint," he added.
Nash also said that addresses of coronavirus positive patients do not indicate where or how someone became infected. He said that comes from contact tracing and relies on interviews with people "to glean patterns within and across communities."
De Blasio rescheduled an earlier press conference for 1:15 p.m., which did not begin until after 2:15 p.m. At that press conference, the mayor confusingly suggested that he would move forward with the business closures anyway, only to pull back from that statement when pressed by a reporter.
The two politicians have repeatedly tried to exert their power over the city and one another, resulting in whiplash moments for New Yorkers.
Asked why he did not choose to appear jointly with de Blasio to discuss this latest development, which could affect more than 500,000 New York City residents, Cuomo said, “I didn’t put out this plan. He did. If anything you want to ask him why didn’t you propose a plan to the state and work it out and then announce a plan as opposed to announcing a proposed plan that the state has to react to.”
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COVID-19
Governor Andrew Cuomo
coronavirus
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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