New York City’s mayor said Sunday that he has asked the state for permission to close schools and reinstate restrictions on nonessential businesses in several neighborhoods because of a resurgence of the coronavirus.
The action, if approved, would mark a disheartening retreat for a city that enjoyed a summer with less spread of the virus than most other parts of the country, and had only recently celebrated the return of students citywide to in-person learning in classrooms.
Shutdowns would happen starting Wednesday in nine ZIP codes in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
DEBLASIO SAID: “This would begin this Wednesday morning coming – Wednesday, October 7th – require the closure of nonessential businesses in these nine ZIP codes, and I want to go through them now. It’s Edgemere, Far Rockaway 11691; Borough Park, 11219, Gravesend, Homecrest, 11223; Midwood, 11230; Bensonhurst and Mapleton, 11204; Flatlands, Midwood, 11210; Gerritsen Beach, Homecrest, Sheepshead Bay, 11229; Kew Gardens, 11415; and Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, 112469 – those are the nine ZIP codes that have over three percent positivity for at least seven consecutive days.”
About 100 public schools and 200 private schools would have to close. Indoor dining, which just resumed a few days ago, would be suspended. Outdoor restaurant dining would shut down in the affected neighborhoods as well, and gyms would close.
Houses of worship would be allowed to remain open with existing restrictions in place, de Blasio said.
The mayor, a Democrat, said he was taking the action in an attempt to stop the virus from spreading deeper into the city and becoming a “second wave,” like the one that killed more than 24,000 New Yorkers in the spring.
“We’ve learned over and over from this disease that it is important to act aggressively, and when the data tells us it’s time for even the toughest and most rigorous actions we follow the data, we follow the science,” de Blasio said.
Over the past two weeks, the number of new cases of the virus has been rising in pockets of the city, predominantly in neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens that are home to the city’s large Orthodox Jewish population.
Nearly 1,100 people have tested positive in Brooklyn in just the last four days, according to state figures.
De Blasio made the announcement shortly after Gov. Andrew Cuomo complained that local governments with coronavirus hot spots had “not done an effective job” of enforcing social distancing rules.
“If a local jurisdiction cannot or will not perform effective enforcement of violating entities, notify the state and we will close all business activity in the hot spots where the local governments cannot do compliance,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo did not immediately comment on de Blasio’s proposed shutdown in the areas where the virus is spiking.
As many as 500,000 people live in the neighborhoods affected by the proposed shutdown, de Blasio said. He said the lockdown could be lifted in 14 days or 28 days if the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 declines.
The coronavirus was estimated to have hit between 1 and 2 million people in New York City, mostly in the spring before testing was widely available. Thousands of people fell ill each day. By the summer’s end, the city appeared to have the virus partly in check, averaging fewer than 240 new cases per day citywide as recently as Sept. 7.
Overall, the city’s infection rate remains relatively low, with around 420 new cases a day over the past few days, but those have been concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods. The nine ZIP codes singled out by the mayor have been responsible for more than 20% of all new infections in the city over the past four weeks, though they represent only 7% of the population.
De Blasio had said in the past that public schools were largely unaffected by the rise in virus infections in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, but he said Sunday that public schools in the hot spot neighborhoods would be closed “out of an abundance of caution.”
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew praised the decision. “This is the right decision, one that helps protect our schools, our neighborhoods, and ultimately our city,” Mulgrew said Sunday.
The staff at Public School 164 in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, one of the affected neighborhoods, sent a letter to de Blasio on Thursday demanding that the school be closed.
Teacher Frances Hidalgo said it was unrealistic to think the school would be immune from infection when students and staff interact with people in the neighborhood daily.
Hidalgo, a fourth grade teacher, pointed to the high positivity rate in Borough Park. “We don’t live in a bubble. We’re part of the neighborhood,” she said in a phone interview Saturday.
(AP)
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25 Responses
DIBlasio us an idiot! He’s looking at the wrong numbers.Let him look at the death rate for these locations. Some of these zip codes for many weeks have a death rate of absolute zero. If the country had these death rates we would declare the crisis as being over.
How stupid can you get?
Notice that the vast majority of neighborhoods that he is shutting down are Jewish neighborhoods. He lets others riot and destroy without any limitation but when it comes to Yidden he is super strict. Jews learn that he is not a friend of ours and he needs to be stopped and replaced before he totally destroys NYC
The public schools in those zips should stay open , they dont interact at all with the neighborhood, these teachers are looking for an easy way out and hurting the ps students
This is who the askonim endorsed.
This is so not right!!!
This article is bashing orthodox Jews.
The orthodox neighborhoods are not the only ones with a spike ACTUALLY the world is starting a second wave.
We got to have the mayor stop blaming us Jews.
We have to take action. Fine let him close the neighborhoods but don’t let’s him blame the orthodox Jews in the neighborhoods
Who will be proactive and do something
This is helping the rise of antisemitism by the mayor!
We need help! We need moshiach!
Hate to say it: Thank you, DeBlasio, for acting responsibly! You are protecting lives of New Yorkers, including those in our community.
Now is the time for accountability, why we have gotten here after what we leaned from the first wave.
Comrade Warren Wilhelm Jr AKA Bill deBlasio is at it again. Don’t tell me there’s no hint of his being a soneh torah umitzvos.
I hope and pray they all tell him לך לעזאזל!
I’m very disturbed. It’s a picture of 2 young girls, which one of them you even see their faces!
That’s not ok, and must be taken off asap
The data of 11219 Borough Park is on Shabbos 3.9% positive cases, and on friday 4% positive, and we all know Yidden don’t test themselves on Shabbos or Yom Tov, (because it is not Pikuach Nefesh) unless they are admitted to a hospital, so it must be that all or most cases are not coming from the Yidden!
Cuomo has the last word on this lockdown, and so far he hasn’t endorsed the lockdown, so lets wait and see what will happen.
Rachmana Litzlan if this were to happen. CHAS V’Shalom, CHAS V’Shalom. Al tiftach peh l’Satan. If this were Chas V’Shalom to happen then it will perhaps be the first time in an extremely long time, if not the first time EVER, that “our neighbours” will have a true LEGITIMATE REASON to be ANGRY at their Jewish neighbours. Because of our stubbornness, and our KNOW IT ALL attitude, THEIR businesses will be shut down. They rightfully will be furious at us, Chas V’Shalom, and how could we blame them? This is a very, very precarious situation that I do not remember us ever being in. Where? In the frum 9 zip codes of NYC. I hope someone will send out a VERY LOUD ALARM to GET EVERYONE TO FINALLY START COMPLYING WITH WEARING MASKS EVEN IN SHULS, and practice social distancing as well, IMMEDIATELY in order to avoid the possible backlash CHAS V’Shalom. (Not to mention to avoid the spread of the deadly virus, but that’s not the point of this comment.) Where are our Manhigim? It seems to be that we are on a ship without a Captain. This is very scary to me. We must take drastic measures IMMEDIATELY before Chas V’Shalom it’s too late, if it isn’t already. והוא רחום יכפר עון
I am somewhat happy to say that I stand somewhat corrected in that I just noticed that here on Yeshiva World, on Oct 2nd, there WAS POSTED A MESSAGE FROM THE Moetzes Gedolei Torah of the Agudath Yisroel urging Rabbanim to take extra precautions about masks and social distancing etc. I do feel a lot better now, NEVERTHELESS in my “daled amos” I didn’t see any change. The shut down was first announced Oct 4th, so we now need some EMERGENCY intervention to make sure there’s no shut down. Besides everything else, a HUGE Tefilla Asifa would certainly be a good idea ASAP. With Maran, רשכבה”ג Reb Chaim שליט”א האוינג having Covid, shouldn’t there be a HUGE asifa for Tehillim that he should stay healthy? There’s a very heavy sleep that is surrounding us and keeping many obvious things out of our minds. יהוא רחום יכפר עון
Rsoberman, thanks for the joke. Its Zman Simchaseinu, so I appreciate the humor
Speaking of stupid @silentmoshe, you realize that it takes on average about a month to die from Covid? Ergo, the death rate numbers won’t be available for a month after the spike in infections. Now let’s ask your question again: How stupid can you get?
I appreciate that someone gets it. Thank you Mayor Diblasio.
People, STOP DEFLECTING!
For our peoples sake, take responsibility! Stop emula
I appreciate that someone gets it. Thank you Mayor Diblasio.
People, STOP DEFLECTING!
For our peoples sake, take responsibility! This is madness! I saw on YW an ad for another group of yesomim and it said “ad Masai?” Really?? Until when?? The answer isn’t until Diblasio stops being an anti semite. It’s when we stop being roitzchim and wear masks and social distance.
Thank you Mayor Diblasio.
People, STOP DEFLECTING!
For our peoples sake, take responsibility! This is madness! I saw on YW an ad for another group of yesomim and it said “ad Masai?” Really?? Until when?? The answer isn’t until Diblasio stops being an anti semite. It’s when we stop being roitzchim and wear masks and social distance.
With the attitude that many frum Jews have that they know better and the rules are for someone else is it any wonder that we are the group singled out
Stop crying antisemitism and just wear the darn mask
It’s time for civil disobedience or leaving NYC
11219 zip code includes a third of the nearby neighborhood Dyker Heights which there are no Jews. On the first day of Yom Tov there was reported a 5% of positive covid cases the same as friday, that is proof that the covid cases doesn’t have anything to do with the Jews!
I never understood how people could say that many Jews went to their deaths like sheep.
I will not judge those Jews (dozens of my family members died/were killed and they did not do so. They were not nebachs or complainers!)
But I am shocked at those of you who are ready to bend down before DeBlasio and agree “Yes! It is our fault! אשמנו, בגדנו…”
He is a שונא ישראל!
It is obvious to anyone looking from the outside!
As one commenter stated, “forget the positivity rate! What is the death rate?”
And if we are supposed to follow the science, a choshuv Association of Doctors (I will look it up) just came out a few days ago and said that masks are mostly, by far, ineffective!
These people want power and if we don’t give it to them they will punish us!
Stop drinking the kool aid! Today’s Democratic Party is not the one of yesteryear. Especially the New York party.
Everyone here. Are you registered to vote. The deadline is this Friday. If you are not registered don’t complain. We need to outvote all the democRATs on every level. Nadler for giving 150 billion to Iran. Shumer for trying to destroy Trump. Deblasio for destroying nyc. Cuomo for destroying my state. And every democRAT in between. Go register. It’s far more important than filling out the census. The census should not be filled out. MYes re people means more money for the ny liberals to fight us. Let them bust. They defunded the police and sanitation. Vote Trump
Kol Hakavod! I hope the lockdown continues untill it gets better.
closing yeshivas on chol hamoed. biggest joke. they are not open anyway. just shows how little the mayor knows about our community
@rsoberman:
Actually, the problem is that the girls pictured are far past being young enough for the gratuitous posting of their likenesses to be other than a breach of tsnius. The question is why a site that calls itself The Yeshiva World routinely publishes such photos of females. (As well as photos, such as those of hospitalized patients, that exhibit a brazen lack of regard for the subject’s privacy and dignity. As well as comments that exhibit such blatant effrontery/ leitzonus and gratutious hostility toward others as the snipe by “TGIShabbos” in this thread.) Such images may be perfectly legal, and even, from a secular or non-Jewish perspective, wholly innocuous and inoffensive. As Torah-observant Jews, however, we are bound to a higher standard in these matters.
Has this brazen usurpation ever been disavowed by any legitimate representative of the actual yeshiva world*? (*In which the truly devout walk with their eyes focused toward the ground in order to avoid, to the extent practically feasible, the mere sight of a woman)
A followup to my previous post (October 6, 2020 10:23): Although I absolutely stand by the substance of all of the points I made, upon reflection, I would have toned down the style; the rhetorical pitch somewhat. Specifically, the writing would probably have only been improved by omitting most instances of brazen and blatant.