City To Hand Out Masks At De Witt Clinton Park

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The city Parks Department will hand out face masks Tuesday at a Hell's Kitchen park to help neighborhood residents protect themselves and others from spreading the new coronavirus, according to the department's website.

Face masks will be available at the De Witt Clinton Park fieldhouse on West 52 Street between 11th and 12th avenues from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., according to parks officials.

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. New Yorkers not wearing masks risk being fined by the NYPD, which issued dozens of summons for social distancing over the weekend.

More Parks Department mask giveaway can be found on the department's website.

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