Queens braces for new tiered COVID restrictions after confusing roll-out
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Gov. Andrew cuomo announced the new restrictions in specific parts of queens tuesday. photo via governor’s office
By David Brand
A school administrator in Forest Hills found out her building was going to close after seeing a tweet from Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday night. A barber shop owner in Far Rockaway is still not sure if he can open for business tomorrow.
The head of a Central Queens community board questioned why the state plans to put Forest Hills on near lockdown after the city Health Department had honed in on neighboring zip codes over the preceding weeks.
New COVID restrictions placed on schools, businesses and houses of worship by the state Tuesday will apply to specific geographic zones where virus rates have surged in Queens and Brooklyn. The guidelines, which take effect Thursday, differ from a city proposal to close businesses and schools based on zip code and have left families, workers and business owners confused about how they could be affected.
The rules may be grounded in sound public health guidance, but their rollout has been a public information nightmare, said Queens Community Board 6 Chair Alexa Weitzman who sent Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio a letter asking for clarity Tuesday. It’s the latest example of how the discord between the two leaders has affected everyday New Yorkers throughout the pandemic, she added.
“There’s been so much confusion,” Weitzman said. “Over the weekend, the mayor released his version of the guidance. The governor said, ‘No don’t listen to him, I’m in charge,’ and the result of that is community whiplash when we don’t have a clear coordinated plan.”
Cuomo had already acted on a piece of the city proposal by closing schools Tuesday in three Queens zip codes where COVID-19 has surged. The new rules go even further and apply to a far larger chunk of the borough.
The level of restriction depends on the proximity of a business, school, house of worship or restaurant to a virus cluster in Central Queens, Far Rockaway and Southern Brooklyn. Unlike the city’s proposal, the zones do not adhere to zip code boundaries.
Here’s what Queens residents need to know:
In the red zone, the area with the sharpest increase in COVID positivity, schools and non-essential businesses must close, mass gatherings are banned and restaurants can only open for take-out for at least two weeks. Houses of worship are capped at 25 percent capacity, with a maximum of 10 people. These new rules take effect by Friday.
The Queens red zones include the section of Forest Hills north of Queens Boulevard, the eastern portion of Kew Gardens Hills and most of Far Rockaway, where COVID positivity rates have surged over the past two weeks.
“Step one, you take the most dramatic action within the cluster itself where you have the highest density of cases,” Cuomo said. “Understanding that the people in that cluster interface with the surrounding communities, take additional action in the communities surrounding the cluster.”
The Central Queens tiered restriction map issued by the state Tuesday. Images via the governor’s office
The new information did not immediately reach stakeholders throughout the borough, however.
An administrator at a Forest Hills elementary school said Cuomo’s Tuesday evening tweet with an image of the Central Queens zone map was how she found out her building was going to close.
In the orange “warning” zone surrounding the cluster, schools and “high-risk” non-essential businesses, like gyms and salons, are closed, gatherings are limited to 10 people and indoor dining is prohibited. Houses of worship are limited to 33 percent capacity, with a maximum of 25 people at a time.
The orange zone covers the rest of Far Rockaway and most of Edgemere and stretches into Long Island’s Five Towns. The southern section of Forest Hills is covered by the orange zone, as are pieces of Rego Park and Briarwood.
As in the case of Queens Boulevard, a cluster zone may end on the north side of the street and the less-strict “warning zone” may begin on the south side, which means some businesses will be allowed to operate while others will shut down.
The Rockaway Peninsula tiered restriction map issued by the state Tuesday.
The vast yellow “precautionary” zones cover virtually all of Central Queens, reaching Ridgewood to the west, Jackson Heights to the north, Flushing to the east and Jamaica to the south. The Rockaway Peninsula yellow zone stretches deeper into Nassau County to the east and as far west as Beach 61st Street. There, gatherings are capped at 25 people, restaurants are limited to four people per table and schools must administer weekly testing. Houses of worship are limited to 50 percent capacity.
The new measures came two days after Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed closing nonessential businesses and schools in nine zip codes, including three in Queens. Cuomo shut down school buildings in those zip codes but put the brakes on the business closure plan, saying zip codes were an arbitrary mechanism for determining closures.
Nevertheless, the zip code idea was easier to grasp and prepare for, said Far Rockaway barber shop owner Dave Hewitt. He said he did not yet know how his Mott Avenue business would be affected.
“They didn't say specifically if we’re going to have to close just yet,” Hewitt said Wednesday morning. “I can’t determine from their map if we’re one of the businesses going to be affected. I can’t tell if I’m inside or outside that ring.”
Based on the state map, Hewitt’s Platinum Plus Unisex near Beach 19th Street will have to close. He said paying the monthly rent of $2,400 plus utilities will be difficult, just as it was during the peak of the pandemic.
“It’s one challenge after another,” he said.
Jenny Parkoh, an employee at Park’s Clothing Store in Far Rockaway, said another shutdown will strain the store owners and staff, but she supports the rules if they protect people’s health.
“It’s tough for everybody, but if it brings down the numbers in terms of the virus, if that’s what’s going to help, that’s what we have to do,” Parkoh said.
