New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware will allow beaches and lakeshores to open next Friday at a reduced capacity. New York City’s beaches will remain closed.
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With warm weather expected, police officers in New York City will be deployed at some parks to prevent overcrowding.
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Four Northeast states will let beaches open by Memorial Day weekend.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware have jointly agreed to allow beaches and lakeshores to open next Friday for Memorial Day weekend, but at reduced capacity and with restrictions, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday.
But local governments will be allowed to make their own decisions about whether beaches reopen in their jurisdictions, including in New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio said that city-run beaches would not open.
Mr. Cuomo’s announcement of the agreement came a day after the governors of New Jersey and Delaware, Philip D. Murphy and John Carney, said their states would allow beaches to reopen by Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of those areas’ busy seasons.
Cuomo extended stay-at-home orders for parts of the state, including N.Y.C.
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With parts of upstate New York beginning a gradual reopening, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order late Thursday night extending stay-at-home orders for other regions, including New York City, that do not meet the state’s criteria to begin a limited reopening.
Under the new order, the five regions of the state that have not met key requirements — which include declines in new positive virus cases and deaths, and increases in testing, hospital capacity and contact tracing — will remain shut down through May 28.
On Friday, Mr. Cuomo clarified at his daily briefing that the remaining regions, which include New York City’s suburbs and the Buffalo area, would be able to reopen once they met the state’s benchmarks.
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Police to limit access in Central Park and shift social-distancing enforcement.
With a warmer weekend ahead, New York City will continue working to reduce crowds at parks in Brooklyn and Manhattan, including deploying police officers to limit access to the popular Sheep Meadow in Central Park, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
But the city would also “reset” its approach to enforcing social distancing, Mr. de Blasio said at his daily briefing on Friday. Police officers would now focus on breaking up large gatherings, with the goal of avoiding giving summons, he said.
The Police Department would also no longer be asked to enforce orders requiring people to wear face coverings if they cannot properly social distance, Mr. de Blasio said.
The announcement came after complaints in recent weeks that the police were unfairly targeting black and Latino residents in their enforcement. On Thursday, the mayor criticized officers seen in a video wrestling a woman to the ground after attempting to arrest her for not covering her face.
What’s set to reopen (and when) in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
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For almost two months, much of daily life has been halted in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as officials sought to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control.
But with the virus showing signs of retreat, officials across the region have turned their attention to reviving the economies of their states.
This week and next will offer some of the first crucial tests of whether those plans will work and a window into what “normal” life may be like in the months ahead.
Here is a look at what types of businesses, services and public places are expected to reopen, and when, in each of the three states:
New York
On March 20, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order putting New York “on pause.” Under the 10-point plan, all of nonessential businesses had to close by the evening of March 22. Mr. Cuomo extended the order once in April, and again on Thursday for a majority of New Yorkers.
On Friday, five of the state’s 10 regions became eligible to begin “phase one” of the state’s reopening plan. The five regions are:
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the Finger Lakes, including Rochester
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the Southern Tier, which borders Pennsylvania
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the Mohawk Valley, west of Albany
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the North Country, which includes the Adirondack Mountains.
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and Central New York, which includes Syracuse
The following types of businesses can resume in those regions, provided that certain public health measures are in place:
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Construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade.
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Some retail businesses — including those that sell clothing, electronics, furniture, books, sporting goods, shoes, flowers, jewelry and other types of goods — may open for curbside service only.
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Other activities that are allowed include drive-in movies, landscaping and gardening businesses and “low-risk recreational activities” like tennis, a sport with built-in social distancing.
As of Wednesday, elective surgeries were allowed in 47 New York counties; state court officials said this week that judges and staff members would begin returning to courthouses in 30 upstate counties on May 20.
New Jersey
State residents have been mostly required to stay at home under an executive order in effect since March 21. Gov. Phillip D. Murphy’s order makes exceptions for trips to visit businesses considered essential: getting takeout food restaurants, procuring medical services or to meet other urgent demands.
Mr. Murphy said this week that under a new executive order, some nonessential businesses would be allowed to resume operations at various points this month. Among the changes:
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All retail stores in the state can begin offering curbside pickup of goods starting Monday; nonessential construction projects can also restart at 6 a.m. that day.
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Drive-in movies, religious services and other gatherings will be allowed as long as people stay in their cars.
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Officials allowed parks and golf courses to reopen on May 2.
Connecticut
Most Connecticut residents have been under orders to stay at home as much as possible since mid-March. But the state has not been hit quite as hard by the virus as New York and New Jersey, and officials envision what amounts to a broader, faster reopening.
More specifically:
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Restaurants will be open for outdoor dining only; menus will need to be disposable or posted on boards; and silverware must be packaged or rolled.
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Offices can open but companies have been advised to encourage employees to continue to working from home.
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Retail businesses are required to close fitting rooms, create physical barriers at checkout and install markers that indicate six feet of distance.
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Hair salons can open, but can see customers by appointment only and must close their waiting areas.
Connecticut officials have also said that colleges and universities in the state can reopen in stages over the summer and fall and that summer camps are on track to begin in late June.
Are you a health care worker in the New York area? Tell us what you’re seeing.
As The New York Times follows the spread of the coronavirus across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, we need your help. We want to talk to doctors, nurses, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, emergency services workers, nursing home managers — anyone who can share what’s happening in the region’s hospitals and other health care centers.
A reporter or editor may contact you. Your information will not be published without your consent.
Reporting was contributed by Michael Gold, Matt Stevens and Katie Van Syckle.
