New York City is now only part of state still waiting on reopening
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New York’s Long Island was approved Wednesday to begin phase one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reopening plan, leaving New York City as the only part of the state still waiting to start reviving its struggling economy.
The region that includes Nassau and Suffolk counties – which combined have suffered nearly 4,000 deaths from the coronavirus -- was given the green light after meeting requirements in contact tracing capacity and a decline in hospitalizations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York City, meanwhile, is working to improve on metrics like hospital bed capacity, where it currently is 2 percent short of the 30 percent threshold Cuomo has outlined as a requirement for phase one.
Vehicles move through a nearly empty Times Square during the coronavirus pandemic on May 23. (AP)
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“We are now going to focus on reopening New York City,” Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday, describing the Big Apple as an economic engine of the state, country, and world.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The governor was in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday for a meeting with President Trump, where he is expected to discuss topics such as ways to start critical infrastructure projects to jumpstart the economy.
New York City, since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, has seen 199,301 infections among residents and 15,637 deaths, according to statistics from the state’s Department of Health.
A woman rides her bicycle on the boardwalk at Brooklyn's Coney Island during the Memorial Day weekend. (AP)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No other region in the U.S. has been affected more by the coronavirus. And now, while other major American cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston are moving along in their reopening phases, New York City remains stuck at the starting line.
Mayor Bill De Blasio said Friday that “it looks damn clear right now it's the first or second week in June” for New York City to enter phase one, which under the state’s plan, allows for the resumption of industries like construction and manufacturing, in addition to pick-up and drop-off sales at retail stores.
However, despite the city playing the waiting game, some businesses are choosing to go rogue and reopen in apparent violation of Cuomo’s shutdown orders.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo looks over the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. (New York Stock Exchange/AP)
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A New York Post investigation found at least a half-dozen businesses – including children’s clothing and shoe stores – open in one neighborhood in Brooklyn with customers strolling the aisles.
The businesses did not appear to meet the criteria to be deemed essential and some of them tried to hide their dealings by covering their windows with butcher paper, the newspaper added.