By Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday morning that tonight’s 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will be extended for the rest of the week.
On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on during an interview with an Albany-based radio station that New York City would have an 11 p.m. curfew after days of George Floyd protests which ended in fires, looting and scuffles with law enforcement.
Protests on June 1 remained mostly peaceful and many ignoring the curfew, yet there were areas of Midtown Manhattan and SoHo bore the brunt of looting and vandalism. Roughly 700 arrests were made during Monday night’s protests, according to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.
“If you choose to protest today, please do so in the daytime and then please go home, because we have work to do this evening to keep a peaceful city, ” said de Blasio.
The mayor said that the message of many protesters has been heard “loud and clear” and that there are concerns that the mass protests will spread the seemingly forgotten coronavirus.
“That is not a minor problem at this point. One days, two days that’s one thing, as it continues that danger is increasing,” de Blasio said.
This story first appeared on amNY.com
