Long Island Protesters Demand Economy Reopens, Confront Reporter

COMMACK, NY — Protesters gathered in Commack Thursday afternoon to demand that New York reopen its economy. It marked the second protest of the month in the community after a similar rally was held May 1.

The "Re-Open NY Rally" was organized to form in the Macy's parking lot at Veterans Memorial Highway.

"Decorate your car, wave your flag, don your patriotic colors!" the event's organizer, Olive M., wrote on MeetUp. "Let’s make some noise to Re-Open New York!!! Meet us at Macy’s Parking Lot for a Re-Open NY Rally!! Let’s show the world NY is ready to get back to work!!"

Some protesters wore face masks, while others didn't.

Signs at the rally included "My Sons Are Not Lab Rats For Bill Gates' Vaccine," "Coronavirus Is Not Going Away, But Our Incomes Have," "Small Business Is Essential," "Quarantine the Sick! Open LI!," and "This Is Long Island, Not Rikers Island."

Kevin Vesey, a News 12 Long Island reporter, was confronted at the rally.

"You can see there's clearly a lot of anger here today," Vesey said in a video, as he was approached by a few different protesters.

The state economy has been paused since mid-March as Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order as a means to prevent the new coronavirus from continuing to spread. Restaurants, bars, casinos, gyms and racetracks all closed to in-store service per the order, and state schools also closed for the remainder of the academic year.

New York will reopen its economy in phases, region by region, as seven metrics must be met. Suffolk County unveiled a dashboard Monday to measure how well the area is doing toward meeting the metrics needed to reopen. So far, three metrics still need to be met, including the decline in hospital deaths, new hospitalizations, and number of contact tracers. New York also has a dashboard that says Long Island as a region has met four of the seven necessary metrics.