Hundreds at funeral spark NYPD response and mayor warning
Hundreds of people gathered in Brooklyn Tuesday evening for a rabbi's funeral, sparking a stern warning for New York City's mayor and a response from the NYPD. CBS New York reported many could be seen wearing face masks, but they were standing close together.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says "the time for warnings has passed" after a large crowd was found gathering for a funeral in Brooklyn during the coronavirus pandemic. Police officers were on the scene to help with crowd control.
In a tweet, the mayor wrote: "We have lost so many these last two months and I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths and more families in mourning. We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance."
Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
De Blasio added: "My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period."
We have lost so many these last two months + I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths + more families in mourning. We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
No arrests have been made, CBS New York reported.
Freddi Goldstein, the mayor's press secretary, called the large gathering "absolutely unacceptable."
"I empathisize [sic] with the desire to mourn those we've lost, but this is absolutely unacceptable," she tweeted.
I empathisize with the desire to mourn those we’ve lost, but this is absolutely unacceptable. The Mayor is on the scene and the NYPD is breaking this up. https://t.co/xBvcICVRSX
— Freddi Goldstein (@FreddiGoldstein) April 29, 2020
De Blasio's tweets sparked outrage from City Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who accused the mayor of singling out a single ethnic community, stereotyping and inviting anti-Semitism.
What???This has to be a joke. Did the Mayor of NYC really just single out one specific ethnic community (a community that has been the target of increasing hate crimes in HIS city) as being noncompliant?? Has he been to a park lately? (What am I saying - of course he has!) https://t.co/LYKnUZm2Mc
— Councilman Deutsch (@ChaimDeutsch) April 29, 2020
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