New York curfew today, 3 June: hours, when it starts, when it ends

New York has experienced several days of chaos since the Black Lives Matter protests started over the death of George Floyd. Many of the protests remain peaceful but some have taken advantage of the mayhem to riot and loot stores around the US. That has caused New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio to change the curfew hours.

New York City’s curfew from Tuesday, June 2, through Sunday, June 7, beginning 20:00 (02:00 the following day CEST) each evening until 05:00 the next morning (11:00 CEST). Traffic will be restricted to that of residents and emergency workers and vehicles.

“It is a helpful tool and having it at 20:00 before it gets dark, we think, will magnify our ability to control the situation,” de Blasio told reporters Tuesday at his daily press briefing. The New York Times, however, say that the earlier curfew just pushed more people onto the streets earlier than before. Further research suggests this causes people to become more upset as protests get set to continue and possibly increase in size and intensity.

This change also comes as president Donald Trump criticized the Gov. and the Mayor for having such a late curfew and blaming them for the chaos in the city for the second night in a row. "Macy’s at 34th. Street, long the largest single department store anywhere in the world, & a point of pride in NYC, was devastated yesterday when hoodlums and thieves vandalized it, breaking almost all of its large panels of storefront glass. What a shame. Bring in National Guard!" Trump tweeted as he continues to push for a military intervention to stop the protests.

"We will not tolerate violence of any kind. We will not tolerate attacks on police officers. We will not tolerate hatred being created," de Blasio said at a press conference.

The United States is currently living through one one of the most unfortunate times in its recent history. George W. Bush, the former president, says it is "time for America to examine our tragic failures."

“There’s nobody alive today in law enforcement — and I’ve been around since the late ’60s — nobody has seen anything like this in this country,” William J. Bratton, Mr. de Blasio’s first police commissioner, said to the New York Times.