“I’ve talked to lots and lots of business leaders, especially the smallest businesses. They’re very worried about their futures understandably, but they also are hanging on and they know it can be a matter of months until they’ll be back in action,” de Blasio said on WNYC Friday.

A caller named Cassius from Brooklyn urged Hizzoner to “take a more surgical approach” to the city’s COVID-19 response by finding a way to protect the elderly and health care workers while allowing businesses to reopen.

“We’re on the precipice of destroying the whole city basically,” Cassius said.

“I couldn’t disagree more with that core analysis,” de Blasio responded.

“Rushing back is consistently proven to have the boomerang effect and make things worse and cause bigger shutdowns because it’s not just about a small number of particularly vulnerable people,” de Blasio said.