Cuomo: We're Opening Beaches for Memorial Day

New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and New York announce joint move
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 15, 2020 2:56 PM CDT
Cuomo: We're Opening Beaches for Memorial Day
People walking on the boardwalk Tuesday in Belmar, N.J.   (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

People in New York and nearby states will be able to head to the shore, legally, for the holiday weekend later this month. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that New Jersey, Connecticut, and Delaware, along with his own state, plan to open state beaches for the Memorial Day weekend. This year, the actual holiday is Monday, May 25. Beachgoers will have to wear masks if social distancing isn't possible, and crowds will be limited to 50% of capacity, reports the Hill. No volleyball or football games will be allowed on the beaches, per CBS News, and picnic areas, arcades, concessions, and other places people could congregate will stay closed. All of this applies to state beaches, while cities and other municipalities will make their own decisions for beaches they control.

Saying "we are one multistate region," Cuomo said the decision had to be made jointly. "If Connecticut opened beaches and we didn’t open beaches, you would see a flood of people going to Connecticut," he said. New York City beaches will not reopen for the time being, reports New York Post. "We’re just not ready," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. New Jersey's famed Jersey Shore will open on Friday of the holiday weekend. "The Shore is central to our Jersey identity," Gov. Phil Murphy said, per WNBC, in announcing his state's rules. Rest rooms, shower pavilions, and changing areas will be cleaned regularly. Boardwalk restaurants are limited to selling takeout. "We want everybody to have fun, but we want everybody to be safe," Murphy said. At the moment, Weather.com predicts rain Friday but a dry holiday weekend at the Shore. (More coronavirus stories.)

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