#De Blasio rejects calls to end NYC curfew before Monday

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De Blasio speaks to a protester kneeling in Cadman Plaza during a protest after the death of George Floyd.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio rejected calls Friday to end the city’s curfew policies — as criticism from other top city leaders over police enforcement of the policy grew.

“My plan is to continue the curfew throughout the week,” de Blasio told reporters during his daily briefing. “Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, same schedule 8 pm to 5 am. On Monday morning at 5 am, curfew ends — does not come back if all goes well, and we go right into Phase One of the restart.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio ordered the curfew, which began Monday, after vandals used mass demonstrations spurred by the caught-on-video in-custody death of George Floyd as cover to loot stores in Manhattan and The Bronx.

The city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, has been fiercely critical of the curfew from the get-go, holding a press event after it began nearly a week ago.

Since then, the criticism has picked up steam as a some videos and press accounts of aggressive police tactics used to break up peaceful after-curfew protests — despite de Blasio’s repeated assurances those demonstrations are allowed — went viral.

“End the curfew. Reduce the NYPD budget to invest in communities. Pass drastic police reform. Attack structural racism,” tweeted Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Friday morning.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer also joined the calls for nixing the curfew Friday.

“We must end this curfew. People who could be supporting small businesses & keeping streets safe can’t go out, while people intent on committing serious crimes will go out anyway,” she tweeted. “Essential workers trying to get home after a long day of fighting the pandemic are being harassed.”

A likely Johnson rival in the 2021 mayoral race, city Comptroller Scott Stringer also joined the chorus.

New Yorkers have endured seven nights of police violence and seven days of excuses, falsehoods, and incompetence from @NYCMayor and @NYPDShea,” he tweeted. “Enough is enough. The curfew is a failure and must end.”

Despite the calls for an end to the curfew, it has proven effective in quashing the mass looting that impacted the city, especially Manhattan and The Bronx, earlier in the week.