New York Public Library Lions Don Face Masks As City Reopens

TOPLINE

The iconic lion statues that stand guard outside the New York Public Library’s 42nd Street branch have been outfitted with face masks as the library prepares to reopen next month in hopes that they’ll remind New Yorkers to don a mask as well.

KEY FACTS

TANGENT

Patience and Fortitude are often dressed up to mark special occasions, according to the New York Public Library. They don Christmas wreaths every holiday season, wore Mets and Yankees baseball hats during the 2000 World Series, when the New York City teams played each other (in what locals call a “Subway Series”) and sported jaunty top hats for the library system’s 1995 centennial celebration.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Patience and Fortitude are the perfect symbols for the strengths our city and our nation need now even more. Like them, New Yorkers are strong and resilient and can weather any storm. We will get to the other side of this public health crisis together,” library President Anthony W. Marx said in a statement. “But to do so, we must remain vigilant, we must have patience and fortitude, and we must follow what experts tell us, especially as we continue to reopen our cities. The lions, protectors of knowledge and truth who have seen 109 years worth of history, are setting that example.”

KEY BACKGROUND

New York City entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan last week, the “single biggest” of all four of the planned phases according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Offices are permitted to open with social distancing measures like capacity limits, required face masks and extra workspace sanitation. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that the city’s real estate brokers and landlords anticipate that only 10% to 20% of workers would return immediately, with most companies opting to keep workers at home out of caution. Since the pandemic began, the city has counted 219,670 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 21,941 deaths, according to The New York Times. Famous statues all over the world have been outfitted with face masks in solidarity as the world continues to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. 

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