New York City kicks off Phase One of coronavirus reopening

The Big Apple started rising from its coronavirus-induced slumber on Monday after nearly three months of hitting the snooze button.

The city’s subways and retail, construction and manufacturing businesses hummed back to life as Phase One of the state’s reopening program kicked in.

“Today, I can tell just by looking around that there are some more people,’’ said subway conductor Peter Pharoah at the Grand Central-42nd St. station in Manhattan.

“It used to be a ghost town, and now it’s a small town. It’s like springtime when the first flower starts to bloom.’’

There was only a trickle of straphangers using the system — which transit officials said would be running at 95 percent of pre-pandemic service levels, even if only for 10 to 15 percent of its usual ridership.

Riders are required to wear face masks, and the MTA was handing out free ones, as well as overseeing hand-sanitizer stations set up in the common areas leading to train platforms.

Most of those straphangers spotted by The Post were wearing masks — including Gov. Cuomo, who took the No. 7 train from Court Square in Queens to Grand Centrral, which is three blocks from his Midtown office.

“The subways are cleaner than they have ever been in my lifetime,’’ Cuomo told reporters.

Meanwhile, a smattering of businesses large and small were reopening their doors for the allowable curbside or in-store pickups and dropoffs.

Asked about the city’s reopening, Nir Kahalani, general manager of DNA Footwear on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn’s Park Slope, had just one word.

“Hallelujah,’’ he said.

“We’re getting great reaction from the customers knocking on the door, wanting to come in, and loving that we’re reopening as a curbside. … It’s been super tough, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.’’

Maggie Russo, co-owner of a souvenir shop called Gift Man, also in Park Slope, said, “I’ve been preparing for this day, coming in every day to dust and make sure we have everything.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the stores around here are closed for good, and it’s very sad.”

In Midtown, many stores — from Famous Footwear to Sephora to Old Navy — remained shut. Macy’s flagship Herald Square store was still boarded up from rioting over the police-brutality death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Other businesses such as restaurants that are still shuttered for on-site dining said they are waiting for Phase Two — when they can at least offer outside sit-down service, at a safe distance, of course.

The Mercer Kitchen on Prince Street in Soho had three tables already outside with a total of eight chairs — and manager Vincent Decaria said, “We are preparing.

“We will be serving as soon as we will be allowed to,’’ he said.

Two tourists sat down at one of the tables at one point, with one eating takeout food she had purchased elsewhere.

“We will probably get kicked out soon,’’ her friend said.

Mayor de Blasio did not hop the rails Monday but said he “intends’’ to at some point.

But Hizzoner said the city is adding 20 miles of new bus service across the five boroughs at least partly to help decrease crowding, in keeping with coronavirus social-distancing rules.

Cuomo said the city was allowed to begin reopening because “the numbers say we can.’’’

He was referring to figures such as the daily rate of new infections, hospitalizations and deaths tied to the coronavirus.

The city is now recording its lowest levels of new infections — about 3 percent, de Blasio said.

New York City was the last region in the state to be allowed to begin reopening.

“Day 100 of the coronavirus crisis, and it is the day when we start to liberate ourselves from this disease. It’s a beautiful day for New York City’’ the mayor said Monday.

But he warned that residents shouldn’t lower their guard in terms of social distancing, adding that it would likely take till early July before the city can move into Phase Two.

Cuomo was equally bouyant — and cautious — about the city’s progress, saying recent large protests over Floyd’s death haven’t helped the health situation.

“We got our mojo back,’’ he said.

But as for what the numbers will be like in two weeks, “we don’t know.”

Additional reporting by Julia Marsh, Nolan Hicks, Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan