Coronavirus May Force Canceling Some Of Our Favorite Summer Activities, So What About The Alternatives
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It's not just the closure of the pools and beaches that have parents concerned about upcoming summer plans. Camps and community programs could also be sidelined for the season.
Summer in the city is going to be different this year.
"I'm going to miss going to the pool. I honestly like going to the pool in the summer," 9-year-old Angel told CBS2's Kevin Rincon.
Angel, who's from Crown Heights, isn't alone. Crowded swimming pools are a staple of life for New Yorkers.
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"Going forward, I don't know what we're going to do with no summer camp, no football, no swimming pool, the street fairs that we normally go to. Funnel cake, little things we can't do," said Taisha Allende. Taisha is is having to adjust to the new reality being created by the coronavirus.
For Fred Watts, the executive director of the Police Athletic League, COVID-19 is causing a financial problem.
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"We get over $3.5 million typically from the city to run summer programs. That's gone from 3.5 to zero," he said.
They're now launching private fundraising to try and keep some programs up and running.
"We were planning for an outdoor summer. We had to be prepared in case we thought we could get there, and now we have to take a hard right hand turn and plan for an indoor summer, with maybe a sprinkling of outside activities if public health officials say its okay," Watts said.
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PAL serves thousands of kids in the city. So does the American Camp Association. Susie Lupert, its executive director, says a lot can change between now and June.
"I think that camps are going to have to prepare for a very different summer. But we are still confident that we have some time to try and plan that," she said.
Lupert says kids can only do so much inside by themselves.
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"Children are going to need camps more than ever, children are going to need that socialization in whatever form they can get it, parents are going to certainly need child care and they're going to need a break. So we are extremely hopeful that by the summer we're going to be able to operate in some capacity," she said.
As things slowly start to reopen and the days get warmer, kids, parents and these organizations are hoping it won't be a lost summer.