de Blasio, NYC Officials To Remove 80 Basketball Hoops To Enforce Social Distancing

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the rest of the New York City officials are set to remove 80 hoops form basketball courts across the metro as park-goers and players continue to violate social distancing measures set by the government.

In Wednesday's City Hall briefing, de Blasio said their stern decision to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 came after cops and Park Department workers failed to stop pick-up games despite “repeated attempts.”

“There will not be any basketball games because there will not be any basketball hoops,” added the mayor, through the New York Daily Post.

New York City is home to 1,700 basketball courts. Out of the 80 that will be without hoops, 10 are from Staten Island, said SI Live, which also listed in a recent article the parks that will be affected by the removal.

de Blasio is eyeing to remove more hoops if people still defy the city's social distancing guidelines. He said that there are still “around 1,600 more courts” that can remain open provided that park-goers “follow the rules.”

But if people continue to break the guidelines, city officials will be forced to close all basketball courts.

“If we have to end up closing all basketball courts across the board, we'll do it if we have to,” pointed de Blasio.

Meanwhile, de Blasio is still mulling on a decision on whether to close the city's parks.

They will have an answer by Saturday, reported the New York Post, adding the mayor's pronouncement that it will remain open “but with a lot of enforcement under any scenario.”

City officials are also working with NYPD to determine which streets they will open per borough to pedestrians to further enforce social distancing, said SI Live.