Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 26, 2020

With events and parades officially canceled through June 2020, New York will experience a summer unlike any other in order to control the coronavirus outbreak.

This is a developing story. For up-to-date information on traveling during the coronavirus outbreak, visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Even though New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the states coronavirus lockdown efforts through May 15, that doesnt mean life in NYC will immediately go back to normal on that date. In fact, summer in the city will look very different in 2020 compared to previous years.

On April 17, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all concerts, festivals, and other non-essential permitted events will be canceled through the month of June, calling it a decision we have to make in order to keep people safe.

As for visitors hoping to travel to New York this summer, NYC hotels previously stated theyre hoping to reopen this July, but are basing their projections on the curve the virus has taken in other countries and not on any official announcement from the government. Currently, thousands of NYC hotel rooms are being used to accommodate health workers, recovering COVID patients, and the homeless.

While de Blasio said that most of the citys summer events will be rescheduled later in the year, New Yorkers should not anticipate traditional summer-in-the-city activities. Heres what we know so far about what events have been canceled, what beach and pool access may look like, and what the citys Fourth of July celebration could look like.

For the first time in its half-century history, New York City Pride has been canceled, along with all in-person events on the NYC Pride 2020 roster, originally scheduled for June 1428, 2020.

Pride is a staple in New York City, and is oftentimes a safe space for many, David A. Correa, Heritage of Pride interim executive director, said in a statement. This weighed on our members, board, and staff, knowing that we serve as a haven for vulnerable communities. It was not easy to arrive at the decision to cancel pride . . . but our top priority remains the health and well-being of all those that participate with us.

NBC New York reported that Mayor de Blasio said Pride events could be rescheduled for the fall, but some events will occur virtually this summer.

WABC Channel 7 will continue to support Heritage of Pride this year by broadcasting a special NYC Pride programming event in June to all communities across the NYC and tri-state area, said Debra OConnell, president and general manager of WABC-TV, the broadcast partner of Pride in NYC.

The 56th Celebrate Israel Parade, originally scheduled for June 7, 2020, has also been canceled. With the largest Jewish population outside Israel, NYC hosts the annual parade, which usually draws more than 40,000 marchers, including American and Israeli community leaders and celebrities.

Parade organizers said in light of the cancellation, they have decided to host a virtual event in lieu of the Fifth Avenue parade. More specific details will be announced on a later date, but the online event will have a theme of todah (thank you in Hebrew), to express gratitude to all the healthcare, first responder, and other frontline workers in New York, across the United States, in Israel, and around the world.

The 63rd Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade was originally scheduled for June 14, 2020. Since New York is home to the largest Puerto Rican community off the island, its one of the citys biggest events of the year, typically drawing 1.5 million spectators and marchers to Fifth Avenue to celebrate the people of Puerto Rico.

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While this years parade will not happen in June . . . we look forward to seeing everyone on Fifth Avenue at a later date, once city, state, and health officials give the green light to hold large-scale gatherings in our beloved city, parade organizers said in a statement on nprdpinc.org.

Originally scheduled for June 20, 2020, the 38th annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island will be moved to a later date in August or this fall. If events are put on hold for longer, Dick Zigun, the founder of Coney Island USA, says he and the parades other organizers plan to move the mermaid parade online.

The Public Theaters free Shakespeare in the Park 2020 season, held at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, has been canceled. In addition to planned productions of Richard II and As You Like It, the theater company will also be suspending the remaining season of programs and events, including Cullud Wattah and all performances at Joes Pub in its flagship home at Astor Place through August 31, 2020.

The 50th edition of Lincoln Center Out of Doors, which brings free performances to the Lincoln Center Plaza, has been canceled for summer 2020. However, the performing arts center has virtual opportunities available right now and plans for other in-person events later on.

It is our intention, when it is safe again to gather in-person, to stage a free pop-up festival in a celebration of our great city, and the selfless first responders and healthcare workers who are giving so much during this crisis, Lincoln Center said in a statement. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, were taking our work online with Lincoln Center at Home, our new portal helping families and communities keep the performing arts front and center.

The 2020 edition of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but event organizers are looking at ways to bring the annual summer concerts online.

Each year 200,000 people come together to be part of the beautiful and unique community of our BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, but sadly this year, we will not be reunited at the Bandshell, event organizers said in a statement. We have been working hard to imagine what a remote Festival could look like instead, and we are committed to bringing performances to your home. In the coming weeks, well announce our full plans.

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is New Yorks largest free outdoor performing arts festival, producing more than 100 performances in 16 parks throughout the five boroughs each summer. Per city restrictions, none of its events will be taking place this May or June. However, the City Parks Foundations is hopeful that it will be able to present SummerStage performances later in the summer or fall if and when public gatherings are allowed, according to a statement on its website.

In the meantime, it will be adding new live performances to its website to bring SummerStage concerts directly to your home. For updates, visit cityparksfoundation.org/summerstage.

Governors Ball Music Festival (Gov Ball), which was scheduled to take place on Randalls Island from June 57, 2020, has canceled its 2020 event and will not be rescheduling it for later in the year.

Over the past few weeks, we have gone to great lengths to find a postponement date that works for all parties involved. Due to a myriad of planning and logistical issues, we have come to the conclusion that there are no sufficient options available to us, the festivalwrote in a statement. We are pushing ahead, and are already jumping into plans for 2021.

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On Thursday, April 16, Mayor de Blasio announced that city pools will not open this summer, and a similar decision on beaches is likely soon to come. De Blasio saidthat he couldnt see beaches opening any time soon,saying that theres no plan to open city beaches like Coney Island, Orchard Beach, and Rockaway, which are typically open from Memorial Day weekend through the second week in September.

The TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile ride across all five boroughs, is being postponed from its original date on May 3, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While New York City officials marshal every available resource to slow the spread of the virus and save lives, we continue to discuss alternative dates for later in the year. Well keep you apprised as these discussions progress, Ken Podziba, Bike New York president and CEO, said in a statement.

Instead of postponing its original May 710 dates, the Frieze New York contemporary art fair on Randalls Island is officially canceled.

The 10th annual New York City Poetry Festival, which was scheduled to take place on Governors Island July 2526, 2020, has been officially postponed to July 2021.

In a video posted to Twitter on April 22, Mayor de Blasio said Macys Fourth of July Fireworks show will go on, but in a different way that is still yet to be determined.

We may not be able to do it the way we historically have, de Blasio said in the announcement. One way or another, the show will go on. One way or another, were going to celebrate the Fourth of July in a very special way in New York City. Theres definitely going to be fireworks. How we do them, where we do them, how we do them in a way thats safe and keeps New Yorkers safe, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered between now and then.

As of now, many other events scheduled for later this summer like Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4 and Brooklyns West Indian Day Parade held on Labor Day are still uncertain whether or not they will have to cancel. Earlier in April, Mayor de Blasio previously stated that NYC cant allow sporting events with large crowds until individual cases of coronavirus can be tracked, which puts the Yankees and Mets season on hold for now.

As for the citys museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Guggenheim, and many others are all closed until further notice. While most of New Yorks performing arts institutions had to cancel the remainder of their spring seasons through June, it is unclear yet if the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the New York Philharmonic will return as scheduled for their fall seasons.

With so much uncertainty, it can be hard to have hope. But Mayor de Blasio promises that when the city does reopen, the first major event will be a ticker tape parade in honor of health-care workers and first responders.

When the day comes that we can restart the vibrant beautiful life of this city again, the first thing we will do is we will have a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes for our health-care workers and our first responders, de Blasio said during a press conference. We will honor those who saved us.

>> Next:Will We Be Able to Travel This Summer?

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What Will This Summer Look Like in New York City? - AFAR Media

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