Domino Park puts social-distancing circles in place to control crowds
Photo by Amanda Dombrowski on Instagram: @amanda.dombrowski
After continued overcrowding despite the city’s social distancing mandates, Domino Park has taken a unique approach to control crowds. Over the weekend, the Williamsburg waterfront park implemented painted white circles to delineate the appropriate spacing for persons or groups. As Greenpointers first noticed, photos on social media seem to show people sticking within their circles and even waiting nearby for circles to open up.
Two weeks ago, during an especially warm and sunny weekend, photos went viral of the crowds at both Domino Park and Hudson River Park at Piers 45 and 46. Mayor de Blasio responded by giving the NYPD the authority to limit crowds at these parks, enforcement he expanded this past week to include the Sheep Meadow lawn in Central Park.
Other measures taken by the city last week include the deployment of nearly 2,300 “social distancing ambassadors” at public spaces to remind people to keep six feet apart and hand out free face coverings. To that end, the mayor said the NYPD would no longer arrest those not wearing face masks, but rather focus their efforts on breaking up groups of six or more. This came after a video went viral of police arresting a woman in the subway station for not wearing her mask properly.
The Domino Park circles, each with six-foot diameters, were painted on an artificial turf area at the southern end of the park. As Untapped Cities explained, since Domino Park is operated by larger Domino developer Two Trees Management and not the city, “Two Trees can implement something like the social distancing circles on their own accord.”
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