[Photos yesterday by Steven]
Multiple people shared the news that the ballfields/TF in Tompkins Square Park were locked up yesterday morning, staying closed throughout a summer-like day that saw temperatures hover near 80.
This area along Avenue A at 10th Street remains closed today.
There wasn't any communication from Parks official about the closure — and whether this was a temporary thing or something more semi-permanent for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. One NYPD officer told a reader that the area would be locked up for the foreseeable future.
There were also also reader reports from Saturday about groups of people in this area not practicing social distancing (including a children's birthday party?).
This is the latest part of the Park to close to help enforce social distancing, joining the basketball and handle courts, dog run and playgrounds.
This is maddening. The last wide open space in the park. But the skateboarders and the stroller pushers were definitely not social distancing, and some of the exercise groups had a very lax definition of six feet. We need some streets blocked off from cars and bikes.
ReplyDeletePeople ruined it with their lazy, selfish noncompliance. Just my opinion, don't get all worked up.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the skateboarders this area is now shut down. Everybody warned them that this was going to happen and now it’s happened.. Have fun skateboarding in the street.
ReplyDeleteNonsense. Nothing to do with the skateboarders. These are good kids. It was the millennials picnicking in hordes on Saturday, with their wine bottles in the open, that clinched this overdue closing.
DeleteIt's not one group but many. 80% of people show respect to others - skateboarders, dog people who think it's a dog run, exercise groups, groups of kids - the common denominator is lack of respect for others so don't generalize about a particular group.
ReplyDeleteI was in the ballfields last week. I saw everyone was good at social distancing except the skateboarders. The cops were also there watching everyone inside the park, they didn't do anything or say anything even though they saw the skateboarders were sitting on the benches hanging out like normal days. I wish the cops would give them fines them so they would learn a lesson. I really don't get why the cops didn't do anything.
ReplyDeleteThe more we close spaces, the more people are forced to bundle together. This is counterproductive. We close parks, we close schools but yet we let bars continue to sell alcohol. Great city management. All drunk with nowhere to go.
ReplyDeleteObviously anyone in public should be practicing social distancing and wearing masks. But so far evidence of outdoor transmission is incredibly low. Like 0.1% of cases low in the major Chinese tracing study on the subject.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sfgate.com/science/article/China-study-suggests-outdoor-transmission-of-15229649.php