Desolate Mulberry Street in Little Italy on the afternoon of March 23. PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
THE SILENT CITY
Coronavirus pandemic bring
Manhattan life to near-halt
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The hustle and bustle of
everyday life in Manhattan
has been eerily stilled as
New York City wages war against
an invisible, deadly enemy.
Coronavirus has already sickened
more than 16,000 people
across the fi ve boroughs, killing
more than 200 of them. The number
of infected patients fi gures to
grow in the week ahead. Governor
Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday
the peak of coronavirus cases is
still about two weeks away, yet
patients are already overwhelming
hospitals and their intensive
care units.
Through the silence of the city,
you can hear the wails of sirens
every few minutes, as ambulances
respond not only to everyday
emergencies, but now the evergrowing
number of people suffering
from severe coronavirus
symptoms — including fever,
cough and shortness of breath.
Doctors, nurses and other
health care professionals are fi ghting
coronavirus with everything
they have — putting their own
health at risk as they grind on.
Supplies are vanishing as fast as
the volume of patients grows.
New York City and State are
begging for relief from the federal
government, and the response has
been lackadaisical.
The state needs at least 30,000
ventilators to treat the projected
number of coronavirus patients
who will wind up in intensive
care. This week, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
brought 400 ventilators to New
York City, with the promise of
4,000 more for the state — half
of which would also go to the
city.
The corner of Bowery and Delancey Street was nearly empty on March 23. PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
Both Cuomo and Mayor Bill de
Blasio have repeatedly implored
the Trump Administration to use
its authority under the Federal
Production Act to order the construction
of necessary ventilators.
As of press time, the president
has been silent on making that
order.
While the White House has
been slow to answer the call, others
across the nation and the city
have responded with generosity.
Thousands of masks and protective
gear have been donated or
provided to hospitals across the
city to help deal with the crisis.
Businesses in our city have
reinvented themselves to produce
necessary items such as surgical
masks and hand sanitizer.
Charities across the city that
provide outreach to the neediest
New Yorkers continue their labor
of love in the time of coronavirus,
adapting their routines and
stretching their resources as best
they can to meet the challenge.
Life goes on now across the
city inside homes and apartments.
Streets, parks and public
plazas are virtually empty thanks
to previous government orders
that closed bars and other nonessential
businesses, restricted
public gatherings, and compelled
all non-essential employees to
work from home.
Even the subway trains, usually
bursting with passengers,
are almost void of activity. The
MTA reduced service levels 30%
and is now operating at a massive
fi nancial loss in order to shuttle
the city’s essential workers to and
from their duties every day.
Supermarkets and pharmacies
remain open, but restaurants
have been relegated to deliveryonly
options. Museums are shuttered,
hotels are nearly empty,
Broadway is dark for the foreseeable
future. Thousands have lost
work; some businesses may never
reopen.
Coronavirus is a silent, invisible
menace currently ravaging
the city. The crisis is far from
over. The damage incurred on
human life and the economy will
be great.
Yet New York, as it has before
in times of tragedy, fi ghts on, and
will persevere in the end. The
silence and dread will eventually
give way to the noise of normalcy.
But we have a long way to go to
get there.
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
A few parkgoers in Washington Square Park on March 24.
Schneps Media March 26, 2020 3