Mayor Bill de Blasio holds a media availability at City Hall Wednesday (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
May 21, 2020 By Allie Griffin
New York City is on its way to reopening as early as June 1 as it inches closer to defeating the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said today.
The Big Apple is on track to enter phase one of its reopening soon, he said.
“It’s clear as a bell,” de Blasio said at a press briefing this morning. “All roads are leading to the first half of June — the city indicators, the state indicators, we are seeing very clear progress.”
He said reopening could happen as early as June 1 through June 15, if all the indicators keep declining– such as the number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs.
De Blasio warned that the deadly virus has thrown the city curve-balls in the past, but the trends have been consistent showing a June reopening is likely.
“We’re not going to rest on laurels or assume we have a crystal ball here,” he said. “We’re basing it on the trend which has been pretty damn consistent.”
The city will not reopen all at once, but will follow the state’s guidance and begin phase one of reopening.
“Basically it comes down to will it be the first week of June or the second week of June that we could move into phase one, the state’s phase one possibly with some modifications with the reality of New York City,” de Blasio said.
That means construction, manufacturing, wholesale supply chain businesses as well as agriculture, forestry, landscaping, fishing and hunting trades can reopen.
Retail stores can also reopen, but are limited to curbside pickup and in store pickup or drop off.
