2nd Bed-Stuy ZIP Code Added To Coronavirus Watchlist: Mayor

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Another Bed-Stuy ZIP code has been added to the city's coronavirus "watchlist" where health officials are worried about an increase in the COVID-19 positivity rate.

The 11206 ZIP code — which covers South Williamsburg and a northern part of Bed-Stuy — was added Tuesday to what the Health Department is calling "Tier 2" of coronavirus concern.

Another Bed-Stuy ZIP code, 11205, which covers a western portion of the neighborhood, is also on the watchlist.

Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that the 13 ZIP codes on that watchlist are being monitored to ensure they don't enter the "Tier 1" areas of concern, where schools and potentially non-essential businesses will be shut down this week.

Tier 2 ZIP codes are those where coronavirus cases are growing, but the positivity rates has not exceeded 3 percent for seven consecutive days like those on Tier 1, according to health officials.

"Those 13 do not need to end up in that top category…but we’re warning people in those communities to really buckle down," de Blasio said Tuesday. "If you don’t want to see these restrictions in your community, you can do something about it. There is time to turn things around."

The 11206 ZIP code had a 14-day average positivity rate of 1.90 percent as of Tuesday and the 11205 ZIP code stood at 1.92 percent, according to de Blasio.

Though they have not yet been considered for a full lockdown, health officials have warned that the ZIP codes on the watchlist might be subject to their own, lesser restrictions.

The city has proposed a pause on "high-risk" activities like indoor dining, gyms and indoor and outdoor pools in the ZIP codes on the watchlist.

City officials are waiting on approval from the state for both business shutdown measures, which would start Wednesday.

Here are the 14-day positivity rates for the "watchlist" ZIP codes, as of Tuesday:

• Bedford-Stuyvesant (West)/Clinton Hill/Fort Greene — 11205 — 1.92 percent
• East Williamsburg/ Williamsburg — 11211, 11249 — 2.25 percent
• Brighton Beach/Manhattan Beach/Sheepshead Bay — 11235 — 4.12 percent
• Bergen Beach/Flatlands/Marine Park/Mill Basin — 11234 — 2.74 percent
• Crown Heights (East) — 11213 — 2.41 percent
• Kensington/Windsor Terrace — 11218 — 2.99 percent
• Rego Park — 11374 — 3.27 percent
• Fresh Meadows/Hillcrest — 11366 — 2.53 percent
• Hillcrest/Jamaica Estates/Jamaica Hills — 11432 — 2.25 percent
• Auburndale/Fresh Meadows/Pomonok/Utopia — 11365 — 2.16 percent
• Forest Hills — 11375 — 1.98 percent
• South Williamsburg — 11206 — 1.90 percent