Community Corner

COVID-Weary NYers Ready To Get Back To Normal: Patch Survey

Patch readers shared their thoughts on how New York City has responded to the coronavirus. Here's what they said.

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Gus Saltonstall, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
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Patience and Fortitude, the marble lion statues at the entrance to the New York Public Library, are adorned with face masks.
Patience and Fortitude, the marble lion statues at the entrance to the New York Public Library, are adorned with face masks. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY — Spring is more or less upon us in New York City and residents are looking to return to some type of normality as cases, deaths, and hospitalizations in the area all continue to trend downwards.

A recent Patch survey found that 67 percent of New Yorkers are comfortable with the idea of resuming previous activities this spring.

However, only 32 percent of New Yorkers said they would feel okay about returning to their office job after getting vaccinated.

Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In terms of how New York's most prominent elected officials have fared, the majority of survey takers said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets an A grade for his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The high grade might seem surprising given the recent sexual harassment allegations against the governor, but for the first months of the pandemic Cuomo was one of the most highly rated elected officials in the country.

Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't do nearly as well as Cuomo in the Patch survey, as the majority of people gave him a C grade.

Residents shared some of the biggest missteps or successes NYC has had since the pandemic started.

"I think NYC did great over the past year. It is, we, the people, who are the challenge for not adhering to the best practices," one survey taker wrote.

If the past year has been a blur to you, here's a look back at some milestones in NYC's fight against the coronavirus:

  • The very first case of the virus was confirmed in the city on March 1, and numbers grew exponentially in a matter of days.
  • All schools, daycares, and many public places were shut down quickly.
  • Cuomo instituted lockdowns and restrictions that largely silenced the city. Bars and restaurants shuttered, Broadway lights dimmed, subways and buses emptied and millions of New Yorkers stayed inside.
  • The first death was reported in the state on March 14.
  • All 'non-life-sustaining' businesses were ordered to close on March 22 when a statewide stay-at-home order was issued.

Here are the results of our poll:

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