New York City's mayor says he will keep the heat on "underground schools" after police broke up a session of about 60 students social distancing directives at a yeshiva in Brooklyn.
CNN reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the behavior of the orthodox Jewish school.
"I can't stress how dangerous this is for our young people," de Blasio says. "We're issuing a Cease and Desist Order and will make sure we keep our communities and our kids safe," he said in a tweet.
The man operating the school heeded officers' instructions to close the school and no enforcement action was taken, police say.
In April, police dispersed a large crowd in Brooklyn following a rabbi's funeral. De Blasio condemned the large gathering and came under fire for singling out the Jewish community.
The New York Times reports that as the coronavirus pandemic has continued, Hasidic parents in Brooklyn have increasingly complained that yeshivas are secretly operating again. In the tight-knit community, they say, that creates strong social pressure to send their children into crowded classrooms despite the advice of public health officials.
