Cases are down, vaccinations are up and normalcy is slowly returning to New York City, which barely a year ago was the horrifying epicenter of the country's battle with the pandemic.
And New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is ready to celebrate.
While announcing the cessation of the city's pandemic restrictions beginning July 1, De Blasio triumphantly declared Summer 2021 "The Summer of New York City."
But on Twitter, that reminded people of one thing only—the human cautionary tale that is Seinfeld''s George Costanza.
De Blasio's comment came during an interview with MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe.
Touting New York's successful reversal of its pandemic nadir, which at one point last April saw more than 1,000 deaths in a single day, De Blasio painted a starkly different picture of the city.
"This is going to be the summer of New York City."
"You're going to see amazing activities, cultural activities coming back."
"I think people are going to flock to New York City, because they want to live again."
But as any die-hard Seinfeld devotee will tell you, declaring a "Summer of" anything is just asking for trouble.
In season eight of the iconic sitcom, the show's resident hapless buffoon George Costanza receives a giant severance check after being fired. With his newfound fortune in hand he declares it "The Summer of George"—his time to kick back and relax.
But he takes the whole thing entirely too far, laying around the house in his pajamas doing nothing for weeks. And when a fall sends him to the emergency room, he finds out that his sloth has atrophied his muscles so badly he may never walk again.
Granted, he does walk again, but that's not the point.
To many on the internet, De Blasio's declaration was entirely too much too soon—just asking for New York City to topple into pandemic tragedy all over again just as its mayor triumphantly declares it's back and better than ever.
And naturally, George Costanza-related wisecracks rolled in like a tidal wave.
Despite many people's misgivings, New York may open even sooner than July 1. Following De Blasio's announcement, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he's hoping to reopen the city sooner, saying:
"I don't want to wait that long."
u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit
u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit