Cuomo Threatens $10K Coronavirus Fines Against Local Governments

NEW YORK CITY — New York City can't educate its way out of growing coronavirus cases — instead, it needs to enforce restrictions or face $10,000 daily fines.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent that message to the Big Apple and other local governments during a Friday morning teleconference. He announced they'll receive a state-issued letter telling them to step up compliance.

Non-compliance comes with a $10,000 fine, he said.

"The local government’s responsibility is to enforce the law," he said. "I don’t need them to run a public education campaign."

A public education campaign is a major plank of Mayor Bill de Blasio's effort to tamp down coronavirus hotspots in 11 city ZIP codes across Brooklyn and Queens.

Granted, the city's effort comes with an enforcement prong — officials have been issuing violations to businesses.

But Cuomo's announcement amps up his repeated calls for local governments, and New York City in particular, to step up enforcement on coronavirus. He pointed to the growing clusters in the city and elsewhere in the state.

“The hot spots are a significant problem," he said.