NYC Set To Start Reopening On June 8, Cuomo Says

NEW YORK CITY — New York City is on track to begin reopening its economy on June 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.

Cuomo was joined by Mayor Bill de Blasio during his daily COVID-19 press briefing Friday to announce "the next big step" in recovering from the pandemic.

"We are on track to reopen on June 8th," said Cuomo. "Reopening does not mean we're going back to the way things we were ... it's reopening to a new normal."

To keep up to date with coronavirus developments in NYC, sign up for Patch's news alerts and newsletter.

Cuomo signed an executive order Thursday night empowering him to extend the "NY on PAUSE" stay-at-home order until his seven benchmarks are met or until June 27. All people not involved in phase one industries are still told to remain home.

About 400,000 manufacturing, construction and retail workers will be permitted to return under this first phase of the reopening, according to the governor.

As of Friday, New York City had met four out of the seven benchmarks, with hospital bed capacity and contact tracing nearing the requirements.

New York City continues to struggle with how to provide those workers safe public transportation, with de Blasio saying Friday, "People are going to have to improvise when it comes to mass transit ... I really want to push back on the notion we can solve everything all the time."

Cuomo echoed this sentiment to commuters, "It's up to you. If you want to take public transit, you take public transit."

Coronavirus In NYC: Latest Happenings And Guidance

Email PatchNYC@patch.com to reach a Patch reporter or fill out this anonymous form to share your coronavirus stories. All messages are confidential.