Free face coverings made available at NYC parks; Westchester Square BID chief says more are needed

Free face coverings are being offered at parks across New York City as part of the city's effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

News 12 Staff

May 2, 2020, 5:16 PM

Updated 1,626 days ago

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Free face coverings are being offered at parks across New York City as part of the city's effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Officials say 100,000 free face coverings will be distributed through May 5. Park rangers and police officers handed out one covering per person Saturday morning, telling people they can be washed and reused.
All New Yorkers are required to wear a face covering in public when maintaining a 6-foot distance from others is not possible.
At the Crotona Park distribution center, it took just 40 minutes for the mask supply to run out.
Distribution Sites: NYC.gov 
Yasmin Cruz, the executive director of the Westchester Square Business Improvement District, says the east side of the Bronx is grossly underserved with all 11 of the distribution points in the south or west parts of the borough.
She says she has community members in place to hand them out and even a site where they could be distributed but needs the masks from the city.
The Parks Department told News 12 that there will be another distribution in Crotona Park and at other locations through Tuesday, but there was no word on whether any sites in the eastern part of the borough will be opened.
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