Weather: Cloudy and breezy, with a high near 70.
Alternate-side parking is in effect through Wednesday, then suspended on Thursday for Solemnity of the Ascension. It is in effect Friday and Saturday, then suspended through June 7. The city may extend the suspension past June 7 based on street cleanliness and work-force availability.
Cuomo urges New Yorkers to get tested as capacity expands.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wants thousands more New Yorkers to get tested for the coronavirus — so much so that he had himself tested during his live news briefing in Albany on Sunday.
He stood still and closed his eyes as a doctor fully swathed in personal protective equipment inserted a swab deep into his nose. Then the governor sat down without so much as a sneeze.
“That is the whole test,” Mr. Cuomo said. “I’m not in pain. I’m not in discomfort. Closing my eyes was a moment of relaxation. There is no reason why you should not get the test.”
It was a shift in messaging from what doctors had been telling many New Yorkers with mild or no symptoms through much of this crisis — that they should stay home rather than risk getting sick or infecting others by seeking a test. But with the state increasing its testing capacity, health officials are pushing more residents to get tested to help them trace and contain the virus and the illness it causes, Covid-19.
[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]
Don’t crowd city beaches, de Blasio warns.
Although New York City beaches will not open as usual by Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would still be monitoring them to prevent crowding among people who do go there.
“No swimming. No parties. No sports. No gatherings,” Mr. de Blasio said at his daily news conference on Sunday. “We’re going to give people a chance to get it right.”
When city beaches are not officially open, lifeguards are not on duty and swimming is prohibited, but people are allowed onto the sand. With temperatures rising in the region, the mayor said, the city would continue to treat the coming days as a typical off-season. “If someone from the local community wants to walk on the beach, that’s OK,” he said. “We’re going to let that happen for now.”
[Coronavirus in New York: A map and the case count.]
The police will target crowding outside bars, the mayor says.
New York City residents are not permitted to rub elbows inside their favorite bars and restaurants, so many have apparently turned to the next best thing: grabbing drinks to go and lingering on the sidewalks outside.
The result in some areas has become a public health problem, and law enforcement officials will patrol the city looking to break up those gatherings, Mr. de Blasio said at his daily news conference on Sunday.
The crackdown comes after reports of festive sidewalk gatherings in several areas of the city, including Manhattan and Brooklyn. A reporter for NY1, for example, pointed out that parts of the Upper East Side this weekend resembled the French Quarter section of New Orleans, which, unlike New York, permits public consumption of alcohol. Pictures posted on Twitter seemed to back up the report.
A gathering outside a bar “violates what we’re saying about social distancing, and that puts lives in danger,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We’re not going to tolerate people starting to congregate. It’s as simple as that.”
What we’re reading
Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, has been living in his office for more than a month. [Daily News]
Michael Dowling, the chief executive of Northwell Health, the largest hospital organization in New York, said, “I can’t recall in the last 15 years a discussion with the state about what would need to be done in a pandemic.” [ProPublica]
Two Port Authority police officers delivered a baby on the Staten Island Expressway. [Staten Island Advance]
And finally: The pop-up drive-in
The Times’s Brittainy Newman writes:
Before the pandemic, a large menu and relatively cheap prices kept the Bel Aire Diner packed.
“We haven’t locked the doors in 25 years,” said Patricia Dellaportas, an owner of the retro-style diner in Astoria, Queens.
But now, unable to serve patrons in its comfortable turquoise booths, the diner — like many New York restaurants struggling to stay afloat during the lockdown — decided to pivot. Bel Aire’s solution was to turn its parking lot into a pop-up drive-in theater.
On Wednesday night, people headed there in dozens of cars for two socially distant screenings of “Dirty Dancing.” The film was projected on a 25-foot screen; the audio played through a local radio station. Customers ordered food like hot dogs, sliders and popcorn from the restaurant’s website.
“The Sandlot” was shown on Saturday night.
The diner shares how and when to get tickets to its screenings — its first was “Grease” on May 7 — on its social media pages.
“It’s an amazing way to get the community together and out of their house,” Victoria Philios, the diner’s event coordinator, said. “We’re sold out tonight and feel very fortunate that we’re keeping busy.”
It’s Monday — nobody puts Baby in a corner.
Metropolitan Diary: Decluttering
Dear Diary:
After 34 years in cramped apartments, my wife and I have an arrangement that is not uncommon among city residents who share tight spaces: I keep stuff, and she throws stuff out.
Over time, I have noted that my wife has three distinct levels of “throw out.”
Throw-out Level 1 (the lowest): She holds something up and asks: “Can we throw this out?” This gives me an opportunity to object.
Throw-out Level 2: She holds something up and says: “I’m throwing this out.” This means that I must present a compelling case for keeping the item in question.
Throw-out Level 3 (what I call “Throw out with extreme malice.”): This is when I ask where something is, and my wife responds: “Oh, that. I threw that out.”
— Richard Pieper
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