Briefing 4/20: Gathering Inside A Barbershop, All Permits For City Events In June Are Canceled

Happy Monday! We hope your weekend was a good one. We have some good news: The one-day death toll reported on Sunday in New York was the lowest since April 2.

• As of 1:30 p.m. yesterday, there were 129,788 positive confirmed coronavirus cases in NYC. About 34,602 New Yorkers were hospitalized. There were 8,811 coronavirus-related deaths and 4,429 probable deaths. Since Friday, 7,640 more people have been confirmed with COVID-19. Please stay at home!
• Former city councilman and Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Noach Dear died from the coronavirus. Dear served NYC Council from 1983 to 2001, representing Midwood and parts of Borough Park and Bensonhurst, before he was elected to the Brooklyn Supreme Court in 2015. Council Member Kalman Yeger described him as a “Compassionate, funny, pragmatic, always patient & loved people. His lifelong public service touched many thousands.”
• All permits for city events in June are canceled – that means no Pride Parade and Puerto Rican Day Parade, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.
• About 60 people gathered in a barbershop in Canarsie over the weekend, violating non-gathering and social distancing rules. Two arrests were made and 60 summons were given out. According to NBC News, it was originally said to be a music video shoot, but cops said it was tied to gambling.
• Joe Joyce oversaw JJ Bubbles, a tavern in Bay Ridge, for 43 years until he recently died from the coronavirus, the NY Times reported. On March 1, he and his wife went to Spain for a cruise, traveling to Florida first. His children told them not to go because of the coronavirus. “He watched Fox, and believed it was under control,’’ the Times reported. When they returned, Joyce got sick and soon died.
• Governor Cuomo signed an executive order to allow marriage licenses to be issued remotely and clerks to perform marriage ceremonies via video.
• Have you read this story in the NY Times? One in three jobs held by women has been designated as essential. Non-white women are more likely to be doing essential jobs than anyone else.
• Masbia Soup Kitchen Network is bracing for an even greater increase in demand. Since the outbreak, about 50% of the people joining the bread lines were new first-time clients at Masbia, up from what’s usually about 5%. That’s a 1,000% increase in new clients, Masbia reported.
• A woman died on a Brooklyn subway platform Wednesday after exhibiting what an MTA report describes as “symptoms of COVID-19,” THE CITY reported.
• Roots Cafe turned into a food bank for neighbors in need, we reported last week.