With nice weather today in New York, many coronavirus-lockdown-weary New Yorkers ventured outside, packing Central Park, completely ignoring all social distancing rules.
While frum Jews in the Big Apple stayed home, perhaps davening on porches or in backyards over Shabbos, their fellow New Yorkers packed Central Park to take in the gorgeous weather.
As temps climbed into the 70s, over 1,000 NYPD officers made their presence known across the five boroughs as they tried to enforce state social distancing mandates requiring masks and at least six-feet of space between people to contain the spread of the killer bug, reports the NY Post.
Thousands flocked to Central Park, where the Sheep Meadow was evenly covered with small groups of sun-bathers and picnickers. Pictures reveal that very few people were wearing masks.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, fresh off his poorly-constructed, highly criticized Tweets targeting the Jewish community after the levayah debacle last week, commented on the Central Park gatherings: “Anyone who tries to resist these basic rules and tries to create a public gathering… The NYPD is going to immediately give them a summons – and these are hefty summonses – and we’re going to be very uncompromising.”
WATCH:
{Matzav.com}
Obviously, according to one line of thinking, Central Park should be now the place for simcha events. Or not—to qualify to be in the park crowd without police action, you may need informal dress.