Bed-Stuy Spared From Coronavirus Lockdown, But Still On Watchlist

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — ZIP codes including portions of Bed-Stuy are still on the health department's watchlist for coronavirus growth, but have been spared from local lockdown measures starting Thursday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that a new three-zone, color-coded plan outlined by Gov. Andrew Cuomo for local lockdowns doesn't include all areas facing an uptick in coronavirus cases. He specifically pointed out Crown Heights and Williamsburg, though the plan also excludes sections of Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill that were areas of concern.

The exclusion, though, doesn't mean the neighborhoods are free from concern about the virus, de Blasio said.

"We're going to keep working in those areas in the community with all of our tools to make sure that we keep the situation contained in those parts of the city," de Blasio said.

Cuomo's map marks a departure from the city's approach of targeting ZIP codes, nine of which are hotspots and 13 of which are under a "watch list."

De Blasio had originally proposed a full shutdown in the nine hotspots and a partial shutdown in the "watchlist" areas, which include Crown Heights, Williamsburg and the Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill ZIP code. A South Williamsburg ZIP code that includes a northern portion of Bed-Stuy was added to the watchlist group this week.

The watchlist is reserved for areas seeing coronavirus growth that haven't reached a 3 percent positivity threshold for seven consecutive days.

Instead of the city list, the state plan creates three lockdown areas — one in Southern Brooklyn and two in Queens — around more fervent clusters of the virus. Red, orange and yellow zones in each cluster determine the extent of lockdown measures.

Here are the 14-day positivity rates as of Tuesday for the Northern Brooklyn areas not included in the lockdown:

• Bedford-Stuyvesant (West)/Clinton Hill/Fort Greene — 11205 — 1.92 percent
• East Williamsburg/ Williamsburg — 11211, 11249 — 2.25 percent
• Crown Heights (East) — 11213 — 2.41 percent
• South Williamsburg — 11206 — 1.90 percent

Read more about the lockdown rules for the state-drawn zones here.