Mayor Bill De Blasio is making plans to fully reopen New York City on the first of July, 2021. He has announced that everything that has been closed during the pandemic will open up again.

This includes restaurants, stores, theaters, hair salons, gyms, arenas, and many other places that closed down due to COVID-19.

Mayor De Blasio envisions everything to be opened at full capacity. He believes this will boost tourism and draw in visitors from all around the country.

WJPS teacher, Mrs. Bonanni, said “While I’m excited for things to get back to ‘normal,’ New York was so crowded that I’m afraid I’ll never feel comfortable being anywhere at full capacity again.”

President Biden is calling this fourth of July, “our independence from this virus.” The Mayor wants to open New York ahead of that day so New Yorkers can celebrate.

De Blasio has set a goal: getting five million New Yorkers vaccinated by the end of June.

WJPS student, Sayed Shah, said: “The mayor has plans to make New York City better, but I feel like we should give it an extra couple of weeks since the majority of the people will be vaccinated, it’s too early.”

The Mayor has said that social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines have yet to be worked out for the upcoming opening.

“[Explored] NYC Skyline – Times Square” by John Piekos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0