#Children watch religious play indoors in NYC amid COVID-19 spike
“#Children watch religious play indoors in NYC amid COVID-19 spike”
An event organizer told The Post some 300 kids between the ages of 10 and 13 watched a theatrical production inside a Borough Park warehouse, in one of the Big Apple ZIP codes that’s recently seen a sharp rise in infections.
“We had a play for a couple of hundred kids and they did buy tickets for it, but only a certain number because you’re only allowed to let a certain number of people in,” said Heshy Tischler, an activist in the Jewish Orthodox community.
An NYPD spokesperson said that the gathering “was religious in nature and operating at 50% capacity which is allowed.”
Under a judge’s ruling, indoor religious gatherings can operate at 50% capacity, so long as other coronavirus guidelines, such as social distancing, are followed.
Tischler said he and other community members had gotten a permit from the city to host an outdoor carnival in honor of the holiday — but that officials asked them to reconsider and “only do it on private property,” apparently because of the recent outbreaks.
“So instead we made a play, a religious play, for the young children,” he said, adding that the venue had a capacity of 2,000.
At around 3 p.m., some three hours into the event, the FDNY said it responded to the scene for a report of an overcrowding condition.
According to Tischler, firefighters said they were there to check on the sprinkler system, and then called the NYPD when they saw the large gathering.
Police officers handed out masks to some of the children who weren’t wearing them. Tischler said most of the kids did have on face coverings and kept space between each other, though less than the recommended 6-feet.
Most cops had left the scene by 6:30 p.m., apparently without taking any further action.
Still, Tischler expressed outrage at the interruption from law enforcement, saying: “They’re walking around torturing this neighborhood for no reason.”
“We just wanted to give the kids something nice.”
City Hall said that the FDNY issued several summonses and violations orders over fire safety issues with the building. Firefighters were seen on Monday evening putting their own locks on the doors.
“We’d heard the performance at this theater was scheduled to go on for several more nights this week, and we’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen,” a City Hall spokesman said.
The gathering came as Cuomo put religious institutions on notice about large gatherings in houses of worship during a news briefing, where he announced the closure of schools in Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods experiencing outbreaks.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he also wants to shut down businesses in the nine hotspot ZIP codes, but can’t do so without the governor’s approval.
Many of the areas experiencing flare-ups are home to sizable Jewish Orthodox populations, with which the city’s outreach efforts have struggled to connect.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy and Julia Marsh
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