New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Friday announced that all nonessential permitted events throughout the city for the month of May will officially be canceled, including parades, concerts, rallies and other large gatherings.
“We love those events, but what do we know about those events? It inherently means large numbers of people crowded together in a pretty small space. That’s New York City. That’s who we are, but, guess what? That goes against everything that we need to do to fight back the coronavirus,” de Blasio told reporters Friday.
“We have to be smart. We love those things. We’ll miss them when we don’t have them, but they will be back. They will be back, and by knowing when it’s time to temporarily let them go so we can get to a greater goal, we’re going to actually look back and say that was the smart thing to do,” he continued, including both community and cultural events in his sentiments
Today, we canceled all City-permitted non-essential events through May. It’s painful, but it’s what we need to do. This will NOT apply to medical stations, hygiene stations or things relating to food like farmers markets, meal prep or delivery.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 17, 2020