Things To Do This Weekend NYC

Also Updates on Economy, CoVid & More

February 19, 2021 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 30's and the temperature lows will be in the low to high 20's all weekend. Winds will range from 5 - 10 mph throughout the weekend. Humidity will drop from the high 70% range on Friday to between 50% - 60% the rest of the weekend. There's a forecast of one to two inches of precipitation on Friday and then none the rest of the weekend.

FYI - Next Wednesday, February 24 the temperature highs will near 50 degrees. The photo at right shows a scenic holiday greeting card vista in Queens earlier this month.

Large Scale CoVid Vaccination Centers Operating in All Boroughs

Over the past month, a number of governmental efforts have all been converging on beating back the Corona Virus. At the federal level the Biden Administration has secured hundred of millions of vaccination doses so that by mid year anyone who wants to get vaccinated should be able to do so.

On the State and City level, the Mayor and Governor have set up a number of sites, including at least one mega vaccination site in each borough. In Manhattan the Javits Center opened in mid January, in the Bronx Yankee Stadium opened the second week of February as did CitiField in Queens, in Brooklyn the Brooklyn Army Terminal opened in mid January and on Staten Island Empire Outlets opened today Friday, February 19, 2021.

There are two large supplemental sites planned for opening at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and York College in Jamaica. I believe they both will be open tomorrow, Saturday February 20th - both opening ahead of some of the first announcement plans, which were scheduled for Wednesday, February 24. This is an outreach effort to ethnic communities which have been lagging behind the general population in getting vaccinated.

Eligibility for Vaccinations. The first few waves of openings were allocated to healthcare workers, first responders and folks over 65 years of age. On Monday, February 15, 2021 the Governor opened up the CoVid vaccinations to those with comorbidities which includes cancer and weakened immune systems, pregnancy, heart conditions, pulmonary liver chronic kidney and sickle cell diseases, diabetes, neurologic conditions, obesity and mental disabilities.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the CoVid Pandemic vaccination roll out in NYC.

Things To Do This Weekend NYC

Also Updates on Economy, CoVid & More

February 19, 2021 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

NYS & NYC CoVid Vaccination Information Websites

To learn more about eligibility, what to bring to prove it, where, when and how to get vaccinated visit.

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-main.page

https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov

Government Seems to be Functioning Again. While there are likely to be snafus along the way. All levels of government seem, as best they can, to be coordinating reasonably well to accelerate vaccinations as quickly as possible by working on vaccine supply, distribution and administration. To date over 40 million of 330 million Americans have been vaccinated. And nearly 4 million New Yorkers have been vaccinated - leading the nation in doing so.

New CoVid Variants. But none too soon, as the more contagious and deadly U.K. variant seems to be spreading fast - but that's as a percentage - and currently off a very low base [under 1,000 but not for long]. The vaccines provide some level of protection against the new variants, but not as robustly as against the original strain, which means that even after getting vaccinated, one should remain cautious and continue to practice CoVid saftey guidelines of social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands.

NYS & NYC Economy - Restaurant Restrictions Loosening

As you know, restaurants opened for indoor dining at 25% capacity effective February 12th. The Governor also extended the hours of operation from a 10 pm closing time to an 11 pm closing time. Effective next Friday, February 26th, restaurants will be able to accommodate 35% capacity - consistent with current New Jersey guidelines.

The NYS CoVid positivity testing rate fell below 4% this week, while the rate for NYC fell below 5% this week. Manhattan leads with the lowest testing rate at about 3%, while the Bronx has the highest testing rate at 6%.

Large Scale Sports Events Open 2/23/21. Large scale entertainment venues may reopen at 10% capacity beginning Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021 beginning with the NY Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center.

NYC Economy - MTA Moves to Extend Operating Hours & Mayor Working to Open Cultural Events

There were a couple of recent announcements made this month about efforts directed toward resumption of the new post pandemic normal. One was by the Governor / MTA that effective Monday, February 22nd, the MTA will extend the subway operating hours from 12 midnight to 2 am and open at 4 am instead of 5 am as it has done since the pandemic began. The overnight hiatus has been used for subway car deep clearning.

And I want to generally congratulate the MTA on the noticeably cleaner subway cars - although likely operating at only 30% of the traffic it had accommodated just a year ago is likely also a contributor. I do have one constructive criticism: About the only part of the subway cars that doesn't get cleaned seems to be the windows, which is an easy way to signal to riders that the cars are clean [or dirty]. That's been a missed opportunity all pandemic long.

Another announcement was that beginning March 1, 2021 through October 31st the Mayor is going to enable artists, dancers, actors, musicians and performers of all stripes, through a recently announced program called Open Culture, to use one of 100 street locations for performances and rehearsals - as long as they operate within CoVid safety guidelines. The program is being operated through the Street Activity Permit Office where folks may submit their applications for a permit.

Use this url to learn more or apply for a permit.

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cecm/about/sapo.page

Have a nice weekend and stay safe by keeping on doing what you're doing. We're getting there.