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Everything You Need To Know About Phase 2 Of Reopening NYC
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 21, 2020
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Gretchen Robinette / Gothamist
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 21, 2020
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Last week, as Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the all clear for New York City to enter Phase 2 of reopening, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared, "Get on your mark, get set, cause here we go on Monday... We’ll be ready to take a big step forward for this city.”
On Monday, June 22nd, the city will enter Phase 2, which officially brings restaurants, bars, in-store retail and more back to the lives of New Yorkers. However, it won't look the same. Dining and drinking will be exclusively outdoors, and with new safety regulations in place. And anything involving an indoor space will feature reduced capacity, social distancing, and mask compliance.
It's a new New York, and here's what you can expect:
Phase 2 begins on Monday, June 22nd
What will reopen?
- Outdoor dining will be allowed (here's the plan to make that happen safely, but opening streets for tables may not be fully in play until July)
- In-Store retail (this does not apply to malls, which will remain closed in Phase 2)
- Salons and barbershops
- Real estate services (this includes apartment showings, but only in unoccupied or vacant apartments)
- Car dealerships
- Commercial building management
- Offices (though many companies will keep working remotely, office will be reopening with new safety guidelines)
- Playgrounds (with "social distancing ambassadors")
- Houses of worship can reopen at 25% capacity
- The subway remains open with overnight closures for cleaning. After plummeting, ridership has been up since Phase 1 began in early June, and the MTA expects to "officially cross the million rider threshold" this coming week.
Phase 2 has basically already begun — here's a sidewalk scene from Saturday, June 20th.
As long as positive rates do not spike, NYC will keep hitting the benchmarks needed for each phase of the reopening, which means Phase 3 could be happening as soon as early July. While we have not seen a huge spike, rates have not been declining for the past three days — they remained flat Thursday, and then went up slightly on Friday and Saturday. Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo will be watching the data as the city and state progress through the phases. (The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and other data points are available at forward.ny.gov.)
On Sunday, Gov. Cuomo — who ended his daily briefings last week — noted, "The COVID-19 pandemic isn't over, and as we reopen New York safely and incrementally, the state government will continue to provide timely information so that New Yorkers can make educated decisions for themselves and their families." As of yesterday, New York State positive rates were down to .98%.
Related:
- A Guide To Phase 2 Outdoor Dining: Rules, Etiquette & Advice From An Epidemiologist
- How safe is it to socialize in the open air? We asked an epidemiologist.
- How safe is mass transit?
- Learn more about Phase 2 here.
- A full guide to each phase of NYC's reopening can be found here.
- Wear a mask!
Tagged
COVID-19
pandemic
reopening
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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