By COLlive reporter
Photos: Menush Amit
Parks and playgrounds in New York City are the new battlegrounds between Mayor Bill de Blasio and frustrated frum Jewish residents in Williamsburg and Crown Heights.
On Monday, State Senator Simcha Felder, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, Councilman Kalman Yeger and radio host Heshy Tischler cracked the locks on a park in Williamsburg.
On Tuesday, the same was done at Lefferts Park in Crown Heights where many of the neighborhood’s children – both Jewish and non-Jewish – enjoy with the supervision of their parents and babysitters.
Having been cooped up in their homes throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, many residents and elected officials expressed their disappointment that de Blasio is keeping parks closed and Governor Andrew Cuomo is forbidding overnight summer camps.
“With everything going on in the world, why is our Mayor intent on making criminals of mothers and children in need of a safe space to play?” Felder, Eichenstein and Yeger said in a joint statement. Complaints about double-standards have been growing, as de Blasio allowed this Sunday a mass protest of thousands to take place in Brooklyn.
After its unofficial reopening, Lefferts Park was filled with children and their parents. While smiles on their faces, boys and girls were seen on the playground using the slides, swings and monkey bars, while others were riding their bikes.
Asked about people opening the parks during a press briefing, the mayor said: “We’re not going to allow people to take the law into their own hands.”
“We tried to make it work; it wasn’t working effectively,” he said, without elaborating. “Until the order is given the playgrounds are open; people need to stay off the playgrounds, it’s not appropriate to take their own action. We’re doing this so that we can get to phase two and beyond.”
Phase 2 of reopening New York City, he said, could be as early as June 22.
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You mean rioters who destroyed public property
Something must be done.
The utter nonsense that spews forth from his vile mouth is beyond laughable.
“We are not going to allow people to take the law into their own hands?”
That is unless you are a protester or a looter or simply not jewish.
What a hateful man. NOBODY will miss him when he is gone. #worstmayorever
The protests shouldn’t have happened and De Blasio is a hypocrite, but these people are still wrong. There’s a good reason the laws were put in place and that is to protect us.
There have been no Covid cases in Jewish crown heights in weeks.
What time is it opening tomorrow?
Make posters saying “Freedom of Assembly” and “We are Protesters”.
Call the media.
Have a few parents speak about the throngs of protesters that the mayor winks at and encourages,
Never saw such a scary bunch of criminals in my life!!!😂😂😂
Interesting did he say the same thing about the looters!?!
Wait , so rioting is ok, protesting with thousands of ppl during a global pandemic is ok, but a park with Moms and toddlers is obviously the REAL issue we need to focus on
There were lots of smiling faces on Purim around crown heights. And then the outbreak. Social distancing restrictions – frustrating, yes. Not heeding them – even worse.
Immunity, means that your body has a ready response to the virus. It does NOT mean that the virus bounces off of you. With a moderate exposure to the virus, you can have some mild symptoms, but in a short time it is over. But (1) in that time, you can spread the virus, and, (2) a large enough exposure, can still overwhelm your body’s response and make you very sick. It is understandable that the children need play. But, with enough people doing this in the way it is shown in the pictures, without any limit, makes it a… Read more »
My grandson having fun! BOO to the Mayor, thank you to the lockbusters!
This was so as not to overwhelm the hospitals. That goal has been accomplished. There will be more cases of COVID-19, r”l. But now, IY”H, there will not be a hospital-overwhelming AMOUNT of cases from here to the end of when COVID-19 runs its course. OF COURSE the vulnerable (senior citizens, or those with certain ongoing medical conditions) should not be playing on the playgrounds, or even entering the playgrounds. But that doesn’t mean that the playgrounds need to stay closed any longer. The goal — flattening the curve — was reached. It’s time to get on with life, though… Read more »
just make sure to wash the children’s -and adults’- hands…please…..maybe even change clothes when you get home. Hopefully the parks will be able to be used without the debate…but let’s keep everyone as safe as we can, beEzras Hashem!
I live in Israel. Our parks were placed under lockdown for weeks. Because, although parks are fun, they are also a place to spread the virus. Children are carriers.They can spread the virus to their parents, grandparents and anyone else they spend time with. The mayor was very wrong in locking up the parks without an explanation as to why parks are off limits.This virus is vile and doesn’t care who it strikes. We must protect our children and grandchildren.
Miriam, Safta to 13, Safta Raba to 4
Israel