After two weeks of hearing that protesting racism must be allowed because white supremacy is the biggest public health threat, and watching thousands of people gather in city streets, you would think lockdown is pretty much over. Unless you are Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In the final runoff for the worst governor in the nation, Cuomo has decided to try and enforce his lockdown guidelines in the wake of all the protesting, looting, and rioting. And he’s not joking.
We have received 25,000 complaints of reopening violations.
Bars or restaurants that violate the law can lose their liquor license.
People with open containers in the street can be fined.
Police & protesters not wearing masks can be fined.
Local gov't must enforce the law.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 14, 2020
So there are at least 25,000 Karens in New York state. Hard to believe that many people are really calling to report local business owners and fellow citizens, but maybe that is what the nanny state breeds. Or the ceaseless media panic for three months that is now ramping up again. Riots are waning, so everyone needs to go back home. At least according to CNN.
The same day the governor had the chutzpah to tweet that, this was the scene in Brooklyn:
The #BlackTransLivesMatter protest in Brooklyn right now is stunning. pic.twitter.com/glDticAc4o
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) June 14, 2020
Stunning alright. Why does Governor Cuomo think for a single minute people are going to follow his phased guidelines after seeing scenes like this? After the comments from himself and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio about police officers, how motivated do you think they are going to be to harass their fellow citizens? Pretty safe to say not likely at all.
The draconian lockdown restrictions in New York are now being defied outright in some cases and petitions for relief are getting louder:
A week after the looting in #SoHo, people are done with social distancing and are dining at outdoor cafes. Here’s what I passed from the safety of a car tonight on Spring Street. pic.twitter.com/qkS4eBzQiT
— Beth Fertig (@bethfertig) June 15, 2020
.@NYCMayor: Don’t leave kids behind. OPEN THE PLAYGROUNDS NOW!
Playgrounds + school yards are essential to children. They need a place to play that’s safe.
I was glad to stand with @NYSenatorFelder and @KalmanYeger at Kolbert Park in Midwood demanding playgrounds be opened now. pic.twitter.com/nmZIh9Jf3I
— Simcha Eichenstein (@SEichenstein) June 14, 2020
Governor Cuomo’s position is not helped by the actions of his largest city’s mayor.
VIDEO: As @NYCMayor marches with protesters and orders Contact Tracers not to ask people if they were at protests, the City is welding shut a park that is largely used by Hasidim in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/HcAEo4jVA9
— Yossi Gestetner (@YossiGestetner) June 15, 2020
So thousands of people in Brooklyn for a protest, but the folks in SoHo at outdoor cafes and the Jewish community using a playground are the problems. This is beyond parody.
Perhaps New Yorkers are waking up to the fact that it was actually the calamity of errors made by Cuomo and de Blasio that caused the pandemic experience in the city to be so severe. A devastating report by the Wall Street Journal outlined the significant mistakes in the response in New York City.
It covered everything from the cavalier attitude of de Blasio and other city officials during early March, to the mismanagement of medical facilities. Add Cuomo’s disastrous nursing home policy and the results in New York are not surprising. The investigation termed their findings as “wartime conditions” inside the city’s healthcare system.
So in a situation where the city and state leadership completely failed residents in the face of the initial pandemic, residents are supposed to take Governor Cuomo seriously now? Police officers, who have been abused and beaten for two weeks, should jump on board to further alienate otherwise law-abiding citizens? That seems like a delusional expectation.
The simple fact is at this point, there is no data saying people at outdoor cafes or children in parks are in any significant danger. In fact, Mayor de Blasio has so little concern about large gatherings he is directing contact tracers not to inquire about attendance at protests if someone tests positive for COVID-19. No logical person would look at these types of policies and take Governor Cuomo or Mayor de Blasio seriously.
It is pretty safe to assume healthy people are done being quarantined and law-abiding citizens are done staying home. If state and city leaders continue to insist, the lawsuits will follow. The blatant hypocrisy between their response to protests and riots versus playgrounds and cafes is all too obvious.
They did not just excuse the crowds in the last few weeks. Cuomo and de Blasio gave full-throated support to them out of political expediency. No one should ever take them seriously again.
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