On Saturday May 30th, 2020, SoHo was invaded by thousands of looters. The Police was instructed not to interfere. This inaction resulted in the destruction of nearly every single store in SoHo and violence amongst the looters. Despite an 11 PM curfew, the looting continued on Sunday, as the police was severely understaffed.

It was only on Monday, when all stores were emptied, and the residents feared for their lives, that Mayor de Blasio called for an 8 PM curfew. Since police was still severely understaffed, their only option was to completely close off the neighborhood and ID everybody entering SoHo.