Cuomo Announces All NYC Playgrounds Will Close (But Parks Will Stay Open)

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that all playgrounds in New York City will be closed down after repeated instances of people violating the social distancing guidelines put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. City parks, however, will remain open: "We're going to close down city playgrounds and leave open spaces available," Cuomo said. "So use the open spaces in the park, walk around, get some sun, great. No density, no basketball games, no close contact, no violation of social distancing, period. That's the rule."

This comes one day after Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered ten NYC playgrounds closed. State playgrounds have already been closed, Cuomo also said today.

During today's press conference, Cuomo once again addressed young people during his briefing. "My favorite topic: young people must get this message, and they still have not gotten the message," he said. "You still see too many situations with too much density by young people. They can get it, they're putting their lives at risk. This can kill young people—rare circumstances, but it can. But you get infected, you give it to someone else! So think about somebody else. And I've said this one hundred different ways, the compliance is still not where it should be... so we're gonna take more dramatic actions."

Cuomo said he has spoken to the Mayor's Office and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (who had previously advocated for closing the playgrounds over a week ago) about the issue. Cuomo said he and Johnson initially backed the mayor's plan to use the NYPD to enforce compliance at the playgrounds, but decided it is still too much of a problem, as evidenced by lots of instances of people clustering at parks and playgrounds over the last week.

De Blasio has been reluctant to close down parks and playgrounds, arguing that New Yorkers still need solo exercise and open space. The mayor has prohibited team sports, and the city has gone so far as to remove hoops from 80 basketball courts. Signage was also put up outside playgrounds warning parents that playground equipment is “not sterilized” and to “play at your own risk.”

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has been calling for a lockdown of the city, including closing all parks and playgrounds. He told Gothamist he was especially frustrated by the mayor's insistence up until now on keeping playgrounds open. "The playgrounds should have been shut down awhile ago," Williams said. "It's amazing to me that we're still discussing this. The fact that you can tell the population that we don't sanitize the equipment but it's your decision whether you want to put your child on it or not, I don't know what that is. And then you take down hoops in certain neighborhoods while people who want to play games in other neighborhoods are able to. The message is very muddled now—we need a clear, concise message so we can all be aligned. We need a mandatory lockdown, and that includes no parks. It's just that simple."

In addition to the parks remaining open, the Open Streets pilot that the city started last weekend has been extended at least through April 5th at the same locations.

We've reached out to the Mayor's Office to learn exactly when the playground shutdown will be enacted, and any other details on closures, and will update when we hear back.