Cuomo Shuts Down Schools in Nine NYC Neighborhoods With Troubling COVID-19 Spikes

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that schools in nine neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens will close amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases. At a press briefing in Manhattan, Cuomo said schools in nine New York City zip codes will shut down, one day after the city’s mayor sought the state leader’s blessing to close down some education centers in coronavirus hotspots. Cuomo said the schools will shutter starting on Tuesday. “Better safe than sorry. I would not send my child to a school in a cluster that has not been tested,” Cuomo said. “I am not going to recommend or allow any New York City family to send a child to a school that I would not send my child. We are going to close the schools in those areas tomorrow, and that’s that.”

Cuomo said most of the zip codes are located in Southern Brooklyn, including Borough Park, Midwood, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, and Sheepshead Bay. Restaurants, bars, and other nonessential businesses in those zones will stay open for now, Cuomo said. The governor also added that state officials will take over social distancing and mask enforcement in these NYC hot spots. “Enforcement is kind. You know why? Because enforcement saves lives,” Cuomo said. “Any rule is only as good as enforcement.”