Newburgh father, grandfather, and recreation department employee Joseph Williams is one of a handful of parents who have begun petitioning city officials to impose a curfew on city's nearly 28,000 residents.

“They have to take this thing seriously," Williams told Spectrum News, referring to the coronavirus, COVID-19, Thursday morning. "It’s no joke."

According to interviews and their social media activity, some have asked for a curfew, hoping it would cut down on interaction and, in turn, COVID-19 cases. Civil unrest over the weekend and gun violence early Thursday morning have amped up some of those concerns.

On Friday, Newburgh police shot and killed an armed man: The district attorney has since said the man shot first and police fired back. That incident was followed hours later by rioting on Carpenter Street, which involved more than 100 people and lasted more than three hours.

A few people set fires and committed minor property damage.

On Sunday, a group of at least 50 protestors marched from William Street to the police department on Broadway. Then on Wednesday, a man was hit by a car as he was trying to escape the gunfire, officials said.

On Monday, in the comments under Williams' initial Facebook post publicly pleading for a curfew, neighbors had some back-and-forth with Mayor Torrance Harvey, who reenforced that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not yet allowed it.

“At these group gatherings in the City of Newburgh, they can pass it on and on and on," Williams said in a teleconference interview. "It will be like New York City if we don’t take it very seriously ... It might even cut down on the crime rate among these young men and women."

Williams is also concerned about social events, such as a crowded block party complete with a DJ that had to be broken up last week.

Some city council members are open to the idea of a curfew, requiring everyone to stay inside overnight, but do not think it is necessary. At least, not yet.

“In this situation, I don’t think a curfew is going to do the trick," said At-Large Councilman Anthony Grice Thursday afternoon in a FaceTime interview.

Grice, who is also a Newburgh reading teacher, said public information campaigns by the city and the Newburgh school district are picking up. Both are conducting automated phone calls and regularly issuing letters in English and Spanish.

Grice said mandating people to stay inside overnight is not going to cause them to take preventive measures during the day.

“When people come out after the curfew, they’re going to be congregating," Grice said matter-of-factly. "That’s where the issue mostly is: It’s that they’re not keeping the social distance.”

Even if council members wanted to institute a curfew, it would ultimately be up to the governor to allow it.

"It depends on what their problem is, what their situation is and what they're trying to solve," Governor Cuomo said when asked by a Spectrum News reporter Thursday about Newburgh's curfew discussion at his press briefing. "We'd have to talk through it. I'd have to understand what the theory of their action is."

Shortly after the briefing, Harvey went live on Facebook pleading for residents not to congregate in the streets.

Harvey also updated the public on a phone conversation he had with the governor's staff, during which he asked if the city should impose a curfew.

"That's not what [Cuomo] wants to do at this time. He wants people to manage themselves," Harvey said. "But we are preparing to do that if necessary."