NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday evening said he was comfortable with overnight subway service returning in the city in two weeks.
“From the very beginning, I thought the cleaning was the right approach, and the closure for a few hours a night was the right approach,” de Blasio told political anchor Errol Louis in his weekly “Mondays with the Mayor” interview on “Inside City Hall.”
“But I said also from the beginning that it would be temporary, and when the right time came, we should go back to 24/7. That time’s now,” the mayor continued. “I talked about July 1 is the time I want to see a full, full reopening of New York City. But I’m certainly comfortable with the subways coming back sooner than that.”
Although the mayor gave the nod of approval to bringing back 24/7 subway service, he didn’t have much of a response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing most coronavirus capacity restrictions on restaurants, theaters, bars, retail stores, gyms and offices will be lifted beginning May 19.
When asked if he anticipated the decision — seemingly a dig at the mayor less than a week after he set a more conservative July 1 as the target date for a full reopening of the city — de Blasio said he doesn’t “tend to be surprised by [Cuomo’s] particular choices lately.”
The mayor also discussed:
- His assessment of the first day back in the office for about 80,000 municipal workers
- If he thinks the city will ever reach herd immunity to the coronavirus
- Police enforcement of drag racing in Manhattan
- His endorsement of a City Council candidate
- Who has the jurisdiction to investigate the sexual harassment and sexual assault allegation against City Comptroller Scott Stringer
- When should a judge hold someone without bail
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Faraz Toor - Digital Producer
Faraz Toor is a NY1 digital producer with a focus on local politics. He is also the digital producer for the “Off Topic/On Politics” podcast, which has won awards from the Associated Press and the New York Press Club. Faraz graduated summa cum laude from Brooklyn College.
