New York’s Full Reopening Goal Has a Subway Problem
Daily ridership remains a fraction of pre-pandemic levels even as more people get vaccinated. And it may signal more lasting shifts.
Seats are aplenty on many New York subway cars and ridership figures, while improving, remain grim.
Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio rocked the Big Apple on Thursday by declaring that he sees the city fully reopening on July 1. “This is going to be the summer of New York City,” he said during an interview on MSNBC.
De Blasio certainly has reason for optimism when looking at vaccination trends. About 3.5 million of the city’s more than 8 million residents have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and almost 2.5 million are fully vaccinated, government data show. The mayor is aiming to have 5 million city dwellers fully vaccinated by the end of June, by which point city officials hope that most everything except for school buildings and shows at Broadway theaters can return in full force. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, not to be outdone, said later on Thursday that he'd like the city to reopen even earlier than July.