UES Lawmaker: Shut Down Outdoor Dining, Offices Amid Virus Surge

Upper East Side NY

17 November, 2020

9:41 AM

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UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An East Side lawmaker called for sweeping shutdowns of nonessential businesses and activities this week, saying severe restrictions are needed to slow the resurgence of the coronavirus. State Sen. Liz Krueger, who represents the Upper East Side and Midtown East, released a statement Monday calling on the city to close indoor and outdoor restaurant dining, bars, gyms and nonessential offices if the city's positivity rate reaches 3 percent. "Our City and our State are at a critical crossroads in our fight against COVID-19. New Yorkers, especially essential and frontline workers, made great sacrifices to flatten the curve this spring," she said in a statement. "Now, with infection numbers rising rapidly, we must not merely remain vigilant, but ramp up our vigilance to keep transmission rates down and prevent our health care systems from becoming overwhelmed. We cannot let fear of short-term pain prevent us from taking action to prevent much greater, and much longer-term pain in the future." Krueger's proposal would be significantly more stringent than current policies by the city and state, neither of whom have suggested that outdoor dining or office closures were imminent. If NYC's positivity rate reaches 3%, we must bite the bullet and shut down bars, restaurants, gyms, and non-essential offices. And for all our sakes, don't celebrate Thanksgiving by hosting a superspeader event - try ordering takeout from a local restaurant instead. pic.twitter.com/OuuS2TwxbM— Senator Liz Krueger (@LizKrueger) November 16, 2020 As of Tuesday, the city's 7-day positivity rate stood at 2.74 percent. Hitting 3 percent would automatically close the city's schools, but some, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York Times Editorial Board, have suggested that the city raise that threshold in an effort to keep schools open. Asked to comment about schools, Krueger's office shared an additional statement in which she took no issue with the city's 3 percent threshold, and added that the city would likely reach that level soon. "At that point it would be absurd to keep bars, restaurants, gyms, and non-essential offices open while we close schools," Krueger said. "The question will then be what our policies are for re-opening schools. Those policies should reflect the best science and take into account that there are different educational needs and different transmission risks for different age groups." Last week, Cuomo imposed a 10 p.m. curfew for bars, restaurants and gyms across the state, but did not take any action to close them altogether.