Image by Will Brown (@iwill_photography).

With warmer weather approaching, worries about proper social distancing protocols have increased. Images of New Yorkers not adhering to social distancing measures have gone viral, causing concern that perhaps some city residents are not taking the steps to fight COVID-19 as seriously as others.

Council Member Constantinides has announced a solution to this issue: let Queens pedestrianize its four public golf courses.

The Council Member wrote the following in a series of tweets: “We should be focused on creating more space for people to social distance, like we did with Shore Blvd at Astoria Park. That’s why the City should use the four public golf courses in Queens to allow for more pedestrian space. Instead of targeting black and brown communities, we should be focused on creating space for people to social distance in a safe way. This would unlock acres upon acres of land that’s right now sitting dormant. Hope the City hears our call and leads the way here. We could lead the way on how Cities adapt to this crisis. Land is hard to come by. It’s on us in government to make sure what land we have is used for the benefit of the ENTIRE public”.

Golf courses throughout Queens have been shut down since March, in response to the statewide shutdown in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The four golf courses located in Queens are Clearview Park Gold Course, Douglaston Golf Course, Forest Park Golf Course, and Kissena Golf Course.