.
I don't think Texas re-opened too soon -- and am in the camp that is concerned the shutdowns, if continued too long, could easily result in even more human misery than would be the case if a three-month (or longer) extension were dictated. Besides, it would only take so long for the lid to blow off of society. The economy isn't like an engine you can shut off, come back a few months later, hit the "start" button, and everything is just hunky-dory once again.
To the question of why the covid-19 case rate might be so much higher in NYC than in London, I believe there are a couple of likely reasons.
First, the fashion industry in New York hosts dozens of trade shows and employs a very large number of people; substantially more than the same industry in London. Mostly owing to the fact that the US's economy is about 6-7 times larger than Britain's, its footprint is much larger.
Thus, a large number of people travel between Milan and NYC on a regular basis. And since thousands of low-income Chinese workers, many from Wuhan, have worked for years in the Milan garment factories, it isn't surprising that a number of covid-19 cases started occurring there very early in the course of the pandemic.
Second, a vastly greater number of Italian nationals and Italian-Americans live in the NYC area. Their population number in NYC may be an order of magnitude greater than in London, or possibly even more. Many people of Italian descent have relatives in multiple cities and travel on a semi-annual or at least annual basis to visit them.
Of course, the fact that Mayor de Blasio was publicly urging people to get out and go to plays, restaurants, etc. -- right up until virtually the eve of the shutdown orders -- sure didn't help matters.
.