Gov rips NYU for student parties
New York Gov. Cuomo warned of continued coronavirus outbreaks at colleges Tuesday after New York University students partied in Washington Square Park over the weekend.
The governor railed against school officials at NYU, saying they should have done more to prevent the large gathering, videos of which went viral on social media, as universities across the state and country have seen cases skyrocket in recent weeks.
“Frankly, NYU security didn’t do anything about it. The local police didn’t do anything about it,” he said during a briefing at his Manhattan office. “What do you think is going to happen? You know we’re closing colleges all across the state.”
The school responded by saying it agrees with the governor and plans on sanctioning any student identified from social media posts. However, a spokesman said that the university has “yet to find any indications that the event was organized or DJed by anyone affiliated with NYU.”
NYU officials also noted that school security has no jurisdiction in the city park.
“The university is keenly aware of the type of events that have caused outbreaks at colleges elsewhere,” said NYU spokesman John Beckman. “That is why we have been directing messages at our students about those very sorts of gatherings … and have been serious about enforcing the rules we put in place.”
Cuomo said all colleges in New York will now be required to report to the state Health Department when they have 100 or more COVID-19 cases, a threshold that would require a shift to remote classes unless there were extenuating circumstances.
SUNY Oneonta, Cornell University, University at Buffalo, Hofstra University, SUNY Oswego, Colgate University and SUNY Fredonia have all already seen significant outbreaks, the governor noted.
“That’s the entire state,” he said. “It goes from Long Island, all the way upstate. This is going to be a problem. I am telling you, one of the lessons we learned is just to anticipate what is happening and be ready for it.”
Students traveling to the Empire State from elsewhere make social gatherings more of a concern than protests earlier in the year, he added, when asked about large groups of demonstrators who took to the streets of the city earlier in the summer.
Separately, the state will also host a “report card” website to allow parents of school-age kids to check on how well their districts are managing to reopen.
While he said he’s aware of the “economic pain” being inflicted on city restaurant owners and workers, Cuomo gave no indication that he’s ready to allow indoor dining in the five boroughs until the city steps up enforcement.
“We have seen that opening bars has created a compliance and enforcement nightmare,” he said. “From our experience upstate, opening indoor dining caused issues.”
Such problems would only be amplified in the city, where local officials have failed to enforce strict coronavirus safety measures. the governor added.
“I beseeched the local governments to help and they did not,” Cuomo said.