Indoor Senior Centers In NYC Will Reopen June 14, De Blasio Says

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's senior centers will reopen after more than a year of coronavirus restrictions, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Outdoor activities will resume "immediately" at senior centers, de Blasio announced Tuesday. He said they'll reopen for indoor activities starting June 14, albeit with social distancing requirements.

"They are coming back,” he said.

BREAKING: @NYCMayor announces our senior centers will reopen on June 14!

• Outdoor activities will resume immediately

• Indoor and congregate activities will resume on June 14

• Participants will maintain social distancing https://t.co/xYmMt3jQU8
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) June 1, 2021

Reopening senior centers will bring back a vital piece of pre-pandemic life for thousands of New Yorkers.

Seniors are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 and officials have been careful to lift restrictions meant to protect them from the virus. But coronavirus levels in the city have kept dipping to new lows as vaccinations take hold.

The city's average COVID-19 positivity on Tuesday stood at 0.83 percent.

"The lowest since the beginning of the pandemic,” de Blasio said.

About 72 percent of seniors in the city have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, said Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner. The high proportion of vaccinations allowed the city to take steps to reopening senior centers, he said.

"At the same time, we do have to remain vigilant particularly in indoor settings where both vaccinated and unvaccinated people may be congregating and mixing together,” he said.

Senior centers will be open for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, as required by the law, said Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, the city's commissioner for the Department of Aging.

Cortes-Vazquez said given the mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated seniors inside the centers, there will be social distancing guidelines to prevent the potential spread of coronavirus.