De Blasio promises new enforcement, heat plan during summer of coronavirusNY Daily News, Apr 17, 2020
New Yorkers can expect a drastically different summer because of coronavirus as the city plans for different ways to keep residents cool and ensure they don’t drown if beaches are closed.
Mayor de Blasio said Friday the city can’t open beaches by Memorial Day if at all, and that officials would be deployed to make sure New Yorkers aren’t swimming without lifeguards on duty.
Outdoor public pools are already closed for the summer and de Blasio said the city needs to come up with plans to keep residents cool during dangerous heat waves without those outlets.
But Hizzoner shrugged off concerns that younger New Yorkers – particularly those in low-income communities – would swim and risk drowning in rivers, ponds and lakes if the city closes beaches, too.
“We’ve seen, already, New Yorkers of all ages adapt to this really, really tough crisis,†he said. “We do not see, and we’ve never seen, our young people swimming in city rivers in large numbers.â€
“If we saw anything like that, we would create the enforcement to deal with it,†he added.
De Blasio said the city shouldn’t risk coronavirus spreading at crowded beaches and pools just to avoid the possibility people could drown.
“Whatever we do we have to be careful, yes. We need enforcement, yes,†de Blasio said. “But no, no, you cannot say let’s do something that’s going to exacerbate the coronavirus crisis, put people’s health and safety in danger cause we fear some other outcome.â€
De Blasio said cooling centers could still be opened with social distancing restrictions and that the city will plan for alternatives to beaches and pool for those without air conditioning.
“We have to have a plan to prepare for a potential of a hot summer and make sure we can keep people safe in that vein,†he said.
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