A park in Brooklyn was seen being welded shut as the city continues stages of reopening following the coronavirus, but the work was later reversed after pushback from an assemblyman.
The NYC Parks Department was recorded welding the gates to Middleton Playground shut in Williamsburg, according to a video posted Monday to Williamsburg News’s Twitter account.
NYC Park Dept are now Welding shut the doors at Middleton Playground (Lynch Park) so the kids shouldn’t be able to play in the park. pic.twitter.com/KPOxwpksLF
— WILLIAMSBURG NEWS (@WMSBG) June 15, 2020
Assemblyman Joe Lentol had tweeted his dissatisfaction with the park being welded closed and called on the mayor for its immediate reversal.
Welding the doors shut at Middleton Playground during a time when our children need the open space to run and play is UNACCEPTABLE. @NYCMayor: open our playgrounds. @UnitedJewish @DerYidNewspaper @DerBlattHQ @SatmarHQ https://t.co/D0BnrMOPbo
— Joe Lentol (@assemblymanjoe) June 15, 2020
Another video posted later Monday by Williamsburg News showed a worker removing the welding from the gates and returning its lock.
“After pressure from all the politicians including Assemblyman Joe Lentol, NYC Park Dept is now removing the weld and putting back the chain and locks on the Middleton Playground (Lynch Park),” the Williamsburg News reported.
After pressure from all the politicians including Assemblyman Joe Lentol, NYC Park Dept is now removing the weld and putting back the chain and locks on the Middleton Playground (Lynch Park). pic.twitter.com/ej9oOSdFHM
— WILLIAMSBURG NEWS (@WMSBG) June 15, 2020
The moves come after Brooklyn saw thousands of protesters march on the streets Sunday afternoon outside the Brooklyn Museum to demand justice for black transgender people who have been murdered.
Thousands gathered in front of the Brooklyn Museum in NYC for a Black Trans Lives Matter rally and march. https://t.co/QjYg7wmQH1 pic.twitter.com/pwrTY1E4Qn
— ABC News (@ABC) June 14, 2020
“I believe in my power,” black transgender activist Raquel Willis said during the protest. “I believe in your power. I believe in our power. I believe in black trans power.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has supported the protests denouncing racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody on Memorial Day. His mayoral Twitter account posted pictures Monday of him with activists painting a street in Brooklyn in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The streets of Bed-Stuy say it proudly: #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/KeBvXeDzsD
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 15, 2020
Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to reinstate shutdown orders in New York City over the last two days and demanded, “Do your job, local government!”
“Look at the facts. Look at our viral infection rate. Look at the other 22 states [where the virus is on the rise], and you don’t want to be one of those other 22 states,” he said Monday.
A City Hall spokeswoman responded, as de Blasio is taking the day off due to illness, “We must balance safety with people’s need to reopen their businesses.”
“These businesses are allowed to be open per the Governor’s guidelines and we don’t believe imprisoning people or taking away their livelihood is the answer,” she continued.
New York City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
