[Photo yesterday by Steven]
The city locked up the basketball courts yesterday in Tompkins Square Park in a move to prevent people from using the pull-up bars, parallel bars and other equipment in the fitness area.
This comes after the city removed the hoops from the backboards, closed the playgrounds, shut down the dog run and sealed up the handball courts.
With each day, some residents wonder when the entire Park will be locked up for use during the CONVID-19 crisis.
26 comments:
This is getting ridiculous. ALL city parks in every borough should be closed indefinitely. This is the only way to encourage people to stay the F home thus decreasing the chances to become infected, and more importantly, not infecting others. Our mayor needs to step up.
People gonna start doing pullups on scaffoldings now.
Great more over crowding for East River Park.
Of course the city will need to close the parks, or at least lock down large portions of them, because too many “athletes” are still abusing the rules of social distancing, which is our only hope until a vaccine comes along some time in 2021 or later. The city is even fining golfers who are now trespassing on closed city golf courses to play for free. Joggers are still spitting over their shoulders and not even trying to distance themselves as they blow though crowds. And the TSP skateboarders are finally living up to their “skate or die” tagline as they continue to congregate and hang out together. Who knew that skateboarding was a team sport?
I guess it would be foolish to expect anything else but the utmost demonstration of selfishness from people whose primary goal is to mercilessly defeat everyone else they compete against. By refusing to follow the rules and show respect for others, these weekend athletes have proven they are among the most selfish people around.
I’ve been listening to sports fans on WFAN complaining about all the cancelled games, and to Major League Baseballs desperate plan to sequester all the baseball players in hotel rooms in Arizona and play every game in 100 degree heat in a few stadiums without fans, just so that a bunch of millionaires and billionaires can grab back some of those lost TV advertising dollars. Every sports league will soon be making the case for why their sport needs to come back for the good of society.
Don’t ever let sports teams fool you into believing we need to bring back the games soon for the sake of the fans and the concession sellers, because none of their plans involves bringing back any of the concession sellers, and what fan wants to watch a game without any fans?
The problem with sports is that If one player gets sick they can all get sick. Sports attracts the biggest crowds, and is the perfect way to spread the virus. For these reasons, sports needs to be our last priority now, which for many is the opposite of their everyday lives. Sporting events need to the last thing we bring back because these events will be the biggest indicator that we are have beaten coronavirus.
There are many other ways for people to get their entertainment and exercise besides sports. Lets focus on getting schools (which are now cancelled for the remainder of the year) and local businesses reopened first. Maybe until then the athletes can try something new like reading a book.
I agree with Giovanni @ 10:17
I've seen many runners without a care in the world on my street (7th) with no gloves or masks. What if they sneeze or spit or cough? Hello.
I understand people are going crazy without access to sporting events or sports in general. These athletes are paid millions of dollars a year. I don't feel sorry for them whatsoever if they skip a season. It's not the end of the world. We have more pressing issues to address right now. When you look at many around us here, and beyond, people are dropping like fleas. Which begs the question: what is more important? Our comfort and selfishness? Or the safety of our communities from getting ill? Defying orders is wrong and reckless; these very people need to be issued fines that will remind them of their careless actions. This is also about not bringing additional work or patients into hospitals where they are overwhelmed as it is. Volunteer nurses and doctors are traveling from all over the US to assist during the crisis in NYC. If they can make sacrifices, so can we.
Outdoor activities are low transmittal. I understand a basketball or soccer ban where you will be closer than 6 feet. But golf, tennis, walking, hiking, biking, running, sitting on beach, anything you can do 6 ft apart should be allowed.
this makes me sad. soon the parks will close and there will be nowhere safe for my toddler to run around and get some physical activity. we need fresh air. we need space, we CAN do it safely. now all the people who were using this area will crowd the training facility , or east river park, and then they'll say hey there's crowding here now we have to close this as well.
Runners SHOULD be required to wear masks. They are constantly huffing and puffing when running and almost never wear a mask. They are unknowingly dispersing particles. And they have no regard for those of us walking. Running on the sidewalk around TSP is a perfect example. By the way, maybe the skateboarders got the message or the police did some enforcement; there was not the usual congregation of them in TSP last evening!
@Giovanni- Please consider that the athletes are not the only ones effected by cancelling professional sports. There are thousands of broadcast technicians who get the games into our homes, regional sports network employees who produce pre and post game content, and myriad others who are freelance for these teams and networks who are now no longer receiving paychecks. These are the people in that industry hit hardest by the sports shutdown. I am in no way saying there should be a premature return of these events- and I wholeheartedly agree that the Arizona MLB league idea was beyond idiotic and it has thankfully been shelved- but a return in the future when it is safe to do so, even if it is in front of empty stands, would be significant as those thousands of currently unemployed professionals would be able to start receiving income again (and many of their jobs could indeed be done remotely).
Honestly, sports and the welfare of athletes are the last things on the mind of many, including myself. I am most concerned with how I will pay for rent, groceries, utilities, phone, cat food, and credit cards before the stimulus check and unemployment is deposited in my bank account. I am worried once the lockdown is incrementally lifted that my job and place of work will cease to exist. And I hold two college degrees with a ton of experience. What will happen? The economy isn't going to rebound for quite awhile. One day at a time, but the city has every right to enforce the closures of playgrounds and basketball courts. We should be focusing on how to adapt, not trying to refute what medical experts are preparing us for. It is what is is. For right now at least. Until we can merge through this, stay at home, cook, bake, read a book, hell write a book, learn a foreign language, do pilates or yoga, catch up with old friends, or watch movies. Whatever. Just use common sense and practice social distancing. There will always be time to revel in sporing events and whatnot somewhere in the future hopefully. Stay safe everyone!
@2:15PM I do feel bad for the sports broadcasters and employees. I noticed that the guys who do the sports score updates on WFAN and 1010 WINS News were quickly laid off because there is no sports news to report. The talk show hosts are still in business for now, but that may change if this drags on.
Steve Sommers on WFAN has been among the best listen as he has also said that sports is secondary to public health. Even Mike Francesca was on a tear last week, begging Trump to focus on the pandemic, saying “Don’t give me the MyPillow guy doing a song and dance... when people are dying in Queens.” So when two of the biggest voices in sports talk are saying there are more important things to focus on than sports right now, and that our health comes first, its hard to disagree with them.
And isn't that what sports is all about? Being healthy and in peak physical shape? A global pandemic is not the exactly the kind of environment that sports can even survive in, especially not when US Open tennis courts are being used as a hospital. It also would send mixed signals to show the public professional sports on TV while at the same time telling kids not to play basketball, football or skateboard. People can still exercise all they want, but competing against others is out of the question for now.
I’m sure sports will come back when it is safe, but fans will probably not return until there is widespread testing, screening, and vaccination, which takes us into 2021 and beyond. That means watching professional sports without fans, which is like eating cake without the icing. Unfortunately, sports is a luxury we cannot afford right now.
I wouldn't mind if the city decides to close all parks. I think if we want to heal faster, everyone should follow the rules by staying at home. I do understand some people need to be outside for their sanity or their kids. I love being outside too, but we're dealing with the enemy that we can't see. You can argue with me that you're following 6-feet distance rule, but unfortunately, not everyone could do it.
After isolating myself for almost a week, I finally stepped out to get coffee at Abraço today. There was this girl with her friend waiting on the line. Her other friends came and they clearly didn't live in the same roof. They made fun of social distancing and one of the girls coughed without even covering her mouth several times. She might or might not have coronavirus, but that was ridiculous knowing that she was coughing in front of her friends, they made fun of social distancing rule (without even doing it), and the worst none of them were wearing masks. My point is not everyone could understand how to behave during this crisis and took this 6-feet apart for granted. So I am 100% on board if the city decided to close every park and let us suffer for a while but we will get over this sooner.
Lol the skateboarders are out in force, it's completely open this afternoon.
In other news, the Million Man March to find a cure for Coronavirus has been cancelled.
Agreed. Being outdoors is not Inherently risky. Only if you are within 6 feet of others. Runners do need to keep their distance from others though. I would also add ping pong and frisbee to the list of permissible activities. Cuomo said no frisbee this week but that makes little sense. The problem with attempting to ban activities that are not risky is that you lose credibility to ban activities that are risky.
More hate on runners here. No mention of the usual number of guys walking around spitting on the sidewalk. It's most always males who do this. It's not hygienic and it's quite gross. Should we ban all men from going outside?
Or should we ban running - oh but walking is okay? How about speed limits on how fast people are allowed to propel themselves forward with their legs? Ridiculous.
Newsflash: runners, walkers, bikers,.. there's a$$holes everywhere. Keep 6 feet apart, and don't be afraid to remind others to do so as well!
I agree with the 2:19 comment... I fucking hate running, BUT there is nothing wrong with running solo or with someone you're exposed to in your home. Absolutely nothing wrong with keeping your immune system healthy and getting fresh air. The problem is the rude people, just like always. The entitled scum. There are plenty of people running and avoiding people, that's not a problem. The ones on top of people or running in a close path, are the problem. Everyone, be nice, and be rational. God bless.
The latest proposal for MLB would have two leagues- one in Arizona and one in Florida. I casually follow pro sports but could never watch a 9 inning game in full. However there are a lot of rabid sports fans who would be thrilled to see games on TV even without fans. I'm lucky not to live in a shoe box apt but I know the boredom can be insufferable and any kind of relief like live sports is a mental boost. Of course the owners are doing it for their financial gain. That's literally their business......which wouldn't exist if the *fans* didn't want to pay exorbitant prices for tickets and merch. Getting schools opened , which is the public sector, has nothing to do with pro sports, the private sector. Again, not a rabid fan, but anything resembling a modicum of return turn to "normality" is a good thing including sports played in empty stadiums.
As for volunteer nurses from around the US assisting NYC hospitals there more to this than meets the eye. First there's a lot of red tape, they don't easily fit into a new system, and they get paid double ($120/hr) of the average nurse which fosters a lot of resentment among the regular staff.
For those of you who are annoyed by the comments of those of us who ask runners to be more considerate read this https://www.fox13news.com/news/simulation-research-shows-covid-19-can-spread-farther-by-those-exercising-outdoors
@XTC Really? As if there’s nothing else to watch on TV, including almost every sports event over the past 50 years? And what happens when (nit if but when) one player starts to show symptoms or tests positive? This culture is so addicted to sports and competition that there is no cure for sportsaholism. And why begrudge nurses who leave their homes to come here and risk their lives while athletes get paid tens of millions for putting a ball in a hole? We really do need a serious value adjustment in this society If this is how we choose to look at the world.
If we cant criticize the selfish behavior of runners and athletes who would put other peoples lives in jeopardy for their own selfish reasons then who can we criticize? But what else would you expect from a society that values athletic accomplishments over nurses, teachers, and other public servants who actually help other people for little financial reward.
@3:33pm- I don't "watch" TV. I hate it. I tune into news but that's it. I'd much rather work in my garden, make art or read a book. I also don't judge what other people do. But, yes, you're right about how addictive pro sports are to some people. Personally I think it's a huge waste of money. However, I have family member who gets me premium seats at various sports venues free of charge. I go several times a year. Variety, etc. My point is that people who are cooped up in shoe box apts need any distraction they can get.
Again not my thing, but pro sports have absolutely nothing to do with the opening of schools, specifically the public sector.
As for the nurse issue I'm simply stating the facts and this based on first hand knowledge. I'm not begrudging them anything. But there is resentment among local, regular nurses about the pay scale. Comparing pro athletes with nurses is just something I don't know what you're banging on about.
It’s not only the athletes who think they are special, too many dog owners also think they are above the rules. Today I saw about a dozen dogs and their owners climb through an opening in the fence of the baseball field on near the10th Street bridge in East River Park. The dogs were going crazy running around and defecating on the baseball diamond, and the owners were all congregating with each other. I hope the cops caught them and handed out fines, because these people know the field was locked down, and they also had to know this is not a dog run. But since all the dog runs have been shot down they just decided to make a new one. There were also way too may people walking and jogging without masks, so as soon as enough rule of these breakers get caught you can kiss the parks goodbye.
at the beginning of the shutdown I biked down East River park to Battery Park and back, daily. But it got too crowded, especially when it's nice weather. Now I bike there only when it's cold, and ideally rainy. And other days I only bike up and down the avenues. Closing down the parks, especially narrow ones like East River park, is sad, but would make sense.
Closing the parks would only make things worse as people would crowd the sidewalks. I know the intention would be to deter people from going outside at all, but as the weather gets warmer and people need fresh air and exercise (some of us have absolutely no room indoors to do this), people will need/want to get out.
What the city should do is close the streets around the parks and in residential areas to car traffic to there is more room to spread out. I've seen the majority of people practicing social distancing, but problems arise when runners are using the same sidewalks (no masks, huffing an puffing), and sometimes families with kids are out and naturally need more space. I think a lot of streets in the EV could easily be closed for pedestrians, runners, cyclists and kids.
Anon 11:22 in that article about one study, "When someone during a run breathes, sneezes or coughs, those particles stay behind in the air. "
There have been a lot of studies on this point. Droplets are not aerosolized, they are heavier than air so they fall to the ground rapidly. Even if a small amount were to be aerosolized, viral load inhaled depends on volume, and tiny droplets means a tiny volume.
There's no difference between these droplets from runners or walkers, and if anything there's more droplets in the space around someone going at a slower speed. Not even factoring in the wind dispersing it all. Being in close contact is really what matters most.
Share the path everyone! Stay to the side. I cannot stand people walking down the middle of the sidewalk right now, and it seems to be those with no mask on. Naturally.
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