NEW YORK — While acknowledging that the vast majority of New Yorkers understand the grave circumstances surrounding a potential second coronavirus wave in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to denounce those who attended a Brooklyn wedding that reportedly drew thousands of people to an indoor party earlier this month.
In his weekly “Mondays with the Mayor” interview on Inside City Hall, de Blasio told anchor Errol Louis that the Satmar Hasidic synagogue responsible for the event will face a $15,000 fine, and that there may be even more consequences to come.
“There appeared to be a real effort to conceal it, which is absolutely unacceptable. There’s going to be a summons for $15,000 immediately for that site, and there could be additional consequences as well,” de Blasio said, who then noted that the Williamsburg community in recent weeks had been acting responsible.
Pivoting to what he called “New York’s movement of truth,” de Blasio was adamant about the need for New Yorkers to take serious precautions when celebrating Thanksgiving this week, warning that further restrictions may go into effect if the city sees another spike in coronavirus spread.
“If you don’t have to travel, don’t. If you’re staying here, either have a small gathering or a virtual gathering. Practice the distancing, wear the masks,” de Blasio explained. “This is going to be crucial, Errol, because how we come out of Thanksgiving, and whether we have an increase in spread or we keep it fairly modest is going to have so much to do with what happens in the rest of December and into January.”
The mayor signaled that the city is doubling down on asking residents who leave the state for the holidays to quarantine for 14 days upon their return, unless they’ve received two negative coronavirus tests: one in the state they traveled to, and another back in New York City upon their return.
The mayor did note, however, that there are some neighboring states with exceptions to this rule.
“We’re going to be checking on people constantly,” the mayor said. “If people don’t follow the quarantine, there will be substantial financial penalties, and we’re going to make that very vivid because again, this is not an abstraction. This second wave is right at our throat right now, and we can do something about it.”
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Watch the full “Mondays with the Mayor” interview above.
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