Politics

De Blasio Says Playgrounds Are ‘Too Much Of A Risk’ For COVID, But Floyd Protests Encourage Real Change

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Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday said trips to a local playground may be too risky for the spread of Coronavirus, but refused to say the same about ongoing mass protests in the city.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the playgrounds just created too much of a risk to families, of the spread of the disease,” de Blasio said during a press conference Thursday.

“I do think the moment that this city, this nation has gone through in the last two weeks or so is something very particular, very painful, very intense, very challenging,” de Blasio said. “But also a moment where literally decades and centuries of the demand for change came forward, and real change is happening as a result.”

The mayor answered a question about whether he would condemn demonstrations as a risky for coronavirus by saying the protesters are encouraging real change, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Thousands of demonstrators had flooded the streets of New York City, following the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, viral video shows.

De Blasio was asked a similar question a week ago involving why business and religious groups needed to remain at home, but demonstrators could walk the streets without repercussion.

“Four hundred years of American racism, I’m sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services,” de Blasio said, the Free Beacon reported.

De Blasio’s 25-year-old daughter, Chiara, was arrested by police at one of the New York City riots on May 30. She was charged with unlawful assembly, according to NBC News.