HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Social distancing is all the rage these days. And from villages to towns all the way to the governor, officials are asking young people to take the new coronavirus seriously.
Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner sent an email to the community that said, “Stop the spread. Stay at home.”
“Although many residents are staying at home, there are still a lot of people (including students) who aren’t taking the coronavirus crisis seriously enough,” he said.
“I received some complaints from residents on Friday that the Edgemont HS field was crowded with students playing touch soccer,” Feiner said. “How irresponsible! And dangerous. I believe that all fields should be closed until the virus ends.”
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Feiner did order, in his state of emergency March 17, all town parks to be closed “for the use of playing fields, basketball courts or playground facilities.”
Medical officials said, while younger people are not considered at high risk for contracting the coronavirus, they are not immune to it and can pass the virus on to those more vulnerable members of society, such as people 65 years old and older and those with underlying respiratory conditions.
Rye Brook Mayor Paul Rosenberg issued an update Sunday saying that the village is doing everything it can to promote social distancing.
The village previously closed the basketball courts and the playgrounds, and on Sunday, it closed the tennis courts and baseball fields.
“Unfortunately, there are things that we just can’t control,” Rosenberg said. “Whether it’s walking through the parks or in the street, please keep your distance from each other.
“If you see the ice cream truck around town (which you shouldn’t anymore after today), please don’t let your children congregate near the truck,” he said.
The Village of Bronxville sent out a robocall Saturday which said its police department had observed several instances where social distancing guidelines have been violated, “especially by our younger residents.”
Village officials said young people should not be playing in groups and should be congregating in groups.
The call warned that while one may not be experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus while infected, one could pass the virus along to somebody else.
The Village of Croton-on-Hudson also used a state of emergency to mandate the closing fields, parks and playgrounds, including Croton Landing Field, the Dog Park at Black Rock Park, Harrison Street Park Playground and Senasqua Park.
The town and village of Ossining closed all sports fields and courts, playgrounds, dog parks and pavilions until further notice.
While the waterfront parks, walking and jobbing trails will remain open, Ossining officials encouraged social distancing at those locations.
Dale Cemetery and Sparta Cemetery were ordered close except for burials. Gatherings at burials were limited to 10 people, officials said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at a news conference Monday, said he had asked New York City to come up with a plan to reduce the number of young people who were gathering in public parks.
He said that young people in the city have not been following his statewide orders to reduce density in an effort to slow the spread of cases of the new coronavirus.
“My density control measures weren’t enough. That was clear,” Cuomo said.
Once he receives the city’s plan and approves it, he said he will ask the surrounding counties of Westchester, Putnam Nassau and Suffolk to do the same.
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