With New York State imposing major new restrictions in coronavirus hotspots in Brooklyn and Queens through the creation of a three-tier zone mapping system, there has been some confusion over the areas impacted and questions on enforcement in these neighborhoods.
"This will take a lot of education and outreach, but also a lot of enforcement," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at his news conference on Wednesday.
Gothamist/WNYC sought to unpack what we know—and don't know—about these zones ahead of the shutdown, which begins today (Thursday).
Where are these zones located?
The zones are located in neighborhoods with the highest COVID-19 positive test rates in the five boroughs. The mayor had previously identified nine hotspot ZIP codes centered around Southern Brooklyn and parts of Queens, where positivity rates currently range from 3.69% in Kew Gardens) to 8.60% in Borough Park. (The city's overall positivity rate was 1.74% on Wednesday.)
Brooklyn:
Bensonhurst/Mapleton [11204]
Flatlands/Midwood [11210]
Gravesend/Homecrest [11223]
Midwood [11230]
Borough Park [11219]
Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay [11229]
Queens:
Kew Gardens Hills/Pomonok [11367]
Kew Gardens [11415]
Edgemere/Far Rockaway [11691]
Here are the restriction zones mapped:
What do these different colors mean?
Red Zone: These are neighborhoods found to have a 3% or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average. Public and private schools and non-essential businesses are required to close, while restaurants can operate for takeout only. (A full list of state-recognized essential businesses can be found here.) Houses of worship will allow a maximum of ten people inside a building. All mass gatherings are prohibited.
Orange Zone: This is deemed a warning zone, and comes with some restrictions. Schools and "high-risk businesses" (e.g. gyms) will be closed; outdoor dining is limited to four people per table; houses of worship are capped at 33% indoor capacity. Gatherings of ten or fewer people will be allowed to gather outside.
Yellow Zone: These neighborhoods are considered a precautionary zone. Public and private schools will be allowed to stay open so long as students and staff submit to weekly testing. Businesses can stay open so long as they practice good hygiene, and houses of worship will be able to take in half their building's maximum legal capacity. Gatherings of 25 people or less will be allowed outside.
How will I know what zone I live/work in?
The city launched an online mapping tool on Wednesday evening where residents and business owners can enter their full address, learn what zone they fall in, and see the list of restrictions imposed.
In addition, the mayor said that over 1,200 outreach workers will fan out across each of the zones, educating the public and storekeepers on what they can and can't do in a given zone. This will include members from the city's contact tracing program, and employees with Small Business Services and the city Department of Transportation.
New York City residents have been receiving robocalls on the restrictions and where to get tested for free. Information on the location of each zone will be on display on LinkNYC kiosks.
How long will schools and non-essential businesses stay closed?
A minimum of 14 days beginning on Thursday, October 8th. But those restrictions can be extended for another 14 days, according to Cuomo, who offered no specific metrics that would guide his decision. At a news conference on Tuesday, Cuomo told reporters that the state will "see where we are and we'll see the numbers and we'll adjust from there."
How many public schools will be closed?
The city Department of Education said in an email on Wednesday evening that 169 of the 477 public schools in all zones will be closed -- 66 in the red zone, 87 in the orange zone, and another 16 that had already been closed but were in the yellow zone -- with a reopening date expected as early as Wednesday, October 21st.
Each school will shift completely to remote learning in the interim. More than 200 non-public schools, including yeshivas and Catholic schools, will also close.
You can see a list of the schools that will be closed in the red and yellow zones below:
So the zones aren't based on ZIP code? Who made these maps?
Earlier this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that Mayor de Blasio's ZIP code plan wasn't precise enough. "I believe we can draw better lines than a ZIP code," Cuomo told reporters on Monday. "Neighborhoods and communities aren't organized by zip codes."
Hence these "Cluster Action Initiative" maps, establishing three zones for the hotspot areas in Southern Brooklyn and parts of Queens.
On Wednesday, the state updated the maps showing clearly defined boundaries running between city blocks instead of bisecting them to better distinguish the boundaries.
The maps still show one neighborhood can have both a red and orange zone, meaning a store up the same block will be closed while the other can remain open with restrictions. This is the case at a six-point intersection of Gravesend, where a red, orange, and yellow portion of a zone all meet. There, while a pool hall on McDonald Avenue and 86th Street will be forced to close since it rests in a red zone, a business selling windows across the street can stay open given that it's in an orange zone.
The maps were drafted in consultation with health experts including former city health commissioner and Centers for Disease Control director Dr. Tom Frieden, Dr. Noam Ross of EcoHealth Alliance, and Dr. Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota.
Are any other neighborhoods seeing noticeably high rates of positivity?
Williamsburg and Crown Heights in Brooklyn are not on the maps, despite de Blasio's contention that the recent upticks in the number of COVID-19 cases in these neighborhoods demand the state's attention. Williamsburg saw a 2.25% daily coronavirus positivity rate, according to the city Health Department's last update on Tuesday.
"Our Health Department continues to monitor those situations very closely," said de Blasio on Wednesday. "We have seen, unfortunately, the aggressive spread of COVID in those neighborhoods. We're going to keep working in those areas with the community, with all of our tools to make sure that we keep the situation contained in those parts of the city. And we're going to continue to discuss Crown Heights and Williamsburg with the State to make sure that we're taking every precaution to stop the spread of COVID in Brooklyn and Queens."
Will daycare centers stay open?
The DOE has closed approximately 101 daycares, preschools, nursery schools in the nine ZIP codes that the mayor highlighted Monday. State officials have said “state-regulated child care programs are allowed to stay open as they are considered an essential service,” a city Department of Health official told Gothamist on Wednesday.
Are public libraries open?
Some are still open in Brooklyn and Queens, though others have closed because of the restrictions. Check out branches open and closed in Brooklyn here and here for Queens.
How will enforcement work?
The NYPD and the Sheriff's Office will play a major role, according to de Blasio. Governor Cuomo repeatedly insisted this week that localities would need to tighten up enforcement.
But if the spring taught us anything, enforcing the rules consistently is easier said than done. As New York City was attempting to flatten the curve, the NYPD shied away from enforcing social distancing during mass funeral processions in certain Brooklyn neighborhoods. The police also used a disproportionate amount of force in other cases, beating or violently arresting those who didn't follow social distancing guidelines. Data showed that the NYPD's enforcement of the rules disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic New Yorkers.
Will there be a grace period before enforcement action?
Yes. The mayor stressed that there will be an education period during which New York City residents will learn about the new temporary restrictions, but did not specify when businesses will face fines.
What are the fines for not abiding by the rules?
According to the state, sponsors of mass gatherings will face a $15,000 fine if they happen in zones prohibiting them from doing so. Those who do not wear masks can face a fine of up to $1,000.
"Clearly, again we have to get everyone to understand the seriousness of these new rules," said de Blasio. "So, we're going to be enforcing across the board. If a business is open where it should not be, they'll be told to close immediately. If there is resistance, the business will be shut down and there will be penalties. If people refuse to wear masks, there will be penalties. Across the board, this is what we're going to have to do."
So far, however, police have not issued any summonses for not wearing a mask, and mass gatherings in Brooklyn over the past few nights have not drawn any enforcement actions from the NYPD.
Sophia Chang contributed to this report.
