NYC Reopens -- Empire State Building - The Bronx Zoo - The Central Park Zoo - Coney Island Aquarium

07/14/2020

PHASE-4 is approaching for New York City

On July 20th, the Empire State Building Observatory officially reopens its doors to visitors albeit locals for now. The most representative icon of New York City is opening back up allowing visitors to "climb" to the 86th and 102nd Floor after hosting some of the Macy's Fireworks for our Independence Day Celebration on July 4th.

Tickets must be purchased online choosing a specific time & day to prevent forming lines outside. Capacity is reduced to a total of 500 people at any given time (this is an 80% reduction on the overall normal capacity).
Mask is required at all times while inside, they will also take everybody's temperature at the door and you must disinfect your hands before being allowed inside. There will be a one-way-traffic flow and visitors are required to maintain at least 18 feet of distance from all others.





Starting on July 24th, the Bronx Zoo together with the sister-Zoos in Prospect Park and Central Park will reopen to the public. July 28th the NYBG and  The New York Aquarium in Coney Island will also reopen and will have a new exhibition called "Spineless" dedicated to invertebrate marine species including octopus, squid, jellyfish, and other animals to demonstrate the diversity of species found in New York waters and oceans around the world.

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There are some changes on how to purchase tickets, they will have to be booked by specific date and time, and only available online, no tickets will be sold on the premises.
The Bronx Zoo will have three timed-entries -- 10am, 12pm, and 2pm, while the other parks will have hourly entry.

All visitors over the age of 3 and staff must wear masks in all the facilities and at all times. Each structure will limit the maximum presence to one-third of the regular capacity counting both visitors and employees.

Free entry to the Bronx Zoo will resume on Wednesday, July 29th but it will still require advance online booking using the HERO2020 code at the time of booking.

According to the zoo staff and its director Jim Breheny, the animals noticed the disappearance of visitors during this long lockdown, in particular, the bears, giraffes, and monkeys perceived the absence of humans and so they turn their full attention to the staff who took care of the animals during the closure.



There was a moment of great concern when some zoo employees tested positive for COVID-19 and it turned out that whoever cared for the big cats would have been able to unknowingly pass the virus on to them, this is exactly what happened with Nadia the Malayan tiger who, luckily, totally recovered from the virus.

Today, for the first time, New York registered ZERO deaths and the lowest number of infections since the start of the pandemic! The upcoming opening of these three important Attractions is the best way to celebrate, and as always, just like our Governor Cuomo keeps repeating -- Wear the Mask!