The curfew’s over.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday that he has lifted the curfew put in place across New York City last week amid rioting and looting connected to the George Floyd protests. The curfew order was set to expire as of 5 a.m. Monday.
“New York City: We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately,” de Blasio tweeted this morning. “Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city. Tomorrow we take the first big step to restart. Keep staying safe. Keep looking out for each other.”
The mayor established the curfew on the night of June 1 and would later extend it throughout the rest of the week. Critics blasted the plan because it led to police officers making additional arrests, sometimes using excessive force to do so.
Essential workers such as food deliverymen and reporters were also improperly targeted by police during the curfew, even though they were exempt from the order.
While the curfew’s aim was to stop looting, some of the worst rampages in Manhattan and the Bronx happened on the first night of the curfew, which began at 11 p.m. on June 1. De Blasio then moved up the curfew start time to 8 p.m. for June 2, and that brought much of the looting and violence to an end.
This story first appeared on amny.com.
