Meanwhile, underground

No mask, no ride: four simple words for anyone venturing back to the city’s subways, buses and commuter lines, which we remind all are still reserved for essential workers making essential trips, a category that’s expanding on Monday to include reopened sectors in construction, manufacturing, wholesale and pick-up retail.

Protesters are not essential and should stay off transit.

Deadly coronavirus is still here, albeit beaten back, and the MTA will restore a full schedule to let passengers space out as best as possible. What’s not changing for now is the highly successful temporary overnight closure for cleaning and getting help for the homeless. Good.

Local buses remain rear entry-only, with no fare collected. If you’re riding and spot a maskless passenger, don’t be a vigilante, just move away and tell a transit worker or a cop. We trust police won’t ticket anyone walking between subway cars for that same reason.

Upstairs, the MTA’s finances are a shambles from the virus, with billions in needed bailout cash from Washington nowhere to be seen. Feds, please don’t forget.

During this emergency, cooperation between Mayor de Blasio (the city owns the TA and polices the system) and Gov. Cuomo (the state runs the trains through the MTA) has generally been good, highlighted by the overnight shutdown. But pettiness remains. On Feb. 13, de Blasio recommended Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez and Victor Calise to Cuomo for the MTA board; Cuomo still hasn’t sent the nominees to the state Senate.

Do it now, gov, so they can get confirmed this week.