City To Give Out Face Masks In Rego Park Amid Coronavirus Crisis

REGO PARK, QUEENS — The city's parks department will distribute face coverings Tuesday afternoon at the Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center in Rego Park.

The free face masks will be available between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the recreation center, located at 93-29 Queens Blvd.

New York City started an initiative Saturday to give away more than 100,000 masks in city parks through Tuesday, with plans to distribute an estimated 7.5 million face coverings in coming weeks to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.

"When you put on a face covering you are reducing the spread of this disease and taking one small step toward normalcy," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order in mid-April requiring New Yorkers to cover their faces in public when it isn't possible to adhere to social-distancing rules, which say to keep six feet apart from others.

Those who violate the rules may receive a summons.

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