With a makeshift hospital in the middle of Central Park and at the sight of the US Open in Queens, ten more city playgrounds have been closed due to the number of people congregating there despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Basketball rims were taken down and dismantled from the backboard in Rucker Park on West 155th Street.
Two playgrounds in Staten Island, Mauro Playground in Queens, Watson Gleason Playground in the Bronx; Fort Tryon, Jacob Javits and Raoul Wallenberg playgrounds in Manhattan; and, in Brooklyn, the Middleton and Brighton playgrounds, plus two sites in Fort Greene Park were closed and padlocked this week to keep out the crowds of people who were hanging out there.
Mayor de Blasio indicated that he closed the playgrounds reluctantly, but was left with very little choice as people continued to defy social distancing orders despite his threats of fines and a toll of COVID-19 victims that now exceeds 40,000 and 900 deaths in the five boroughs.
Up till now, we policed ourselves. The city resisted calls to close city parks and playgrounds, trusting New Yorkers to maintain social distancing, but his hand has been forced.
“If people will not follow the rules, we’ll continue to shut them down aggressively,” said the mayor.
Last week, the city was forced to take down and store basketball hoops from 80 public courts because of the amount of people who insisted on playing on the courts, despite the current virus pandemic.
Gatherings have been banned regionally, and in the city, the NYPD is now enforcing social distancing, implementing fines of up to $500.
