New York City, ©Joseph Scott Gladstone, 2020
Having a background and formal education in public health, and having taught it for a few years at the university level, I have my thoughts about the current Covid pandemic. I admit my take leans toward the social and economic side of things, both macro and micro. This essay shares my thoughts about Covid’s impact on what I came to discover a wonderful place to visit:
New York City
I have been very fortunate to live near the greater New York metro area for the past three years. I enjoyed visiting enough to make the effort to find an apartment in Connecticut that is only a block from a New York-serving train station. And being a train nerd, my apartment overlooks the train so that I can watch it pass as I worked at my desk.
New York is the city that never sleeps, and there is always something to do there, which is why I chose to live near the train station. I can easily get to The City when Connecticut’s slow life gets the best of me, especially when the weather isn't good for an escape hike along the Appalachian Trail.
Right now, I am very blessed that I came home to be with my family in New Mexico as this pandemic raises havoc in New York and Connecticut. I feel for my friends, students, and colleagues over there as I read the staggering numbers related to the pandemic.
Joe's Pizza, ©Joseph Scott Gladstone, 2020
I also feel for the small businesses that are hurting over there, notably very good restaurants that bring my taste buds joy.
I also think about how slow business is for the very interesting bodegas that support my statement that if you want it, you can get it in New York City. I especially feel for all of the low-wage workers impacted by this crisis. I am always amazed by the delivery folks buzzing around on assorted scooters, playing cat-and-mouse with traffic constantly in search of a parking space, and the many, many others toiling in the workspaces below sidewalk level.
Watching and reading the news, I see that the activity that makes New York a vibrant hive is for now non-existent.
For those who have never visited The City, you might not fully appreciate just how stunning this stillness is.
The New Yorker magazine's March 30th, 2020, cover showing an empty Grand Central Terminal (GCT, "Grand Central", "Terminal") clearly illustrates the impact the pandemic is creating in what is a magnificent city. Having traveled through this terminal many times over the past three years, I viscerally feel the message in the illustration.
GCT is a hub for the Metro-North Railroad's (MNR) branch connecting New Haven, Connecticut to New York City. The trains are frequent, long, and often crowded. And even more frequent and crowded when you consider the GCT–Stamford locals. In addition to the Metro-North New Haven line, there are two other MNR lines leading away from GCT, the Hudson and Harlem lines, which carry commuters to and from lower New York state communities east of the Hudson River.
Grand Central Terminal, Platform 119
In addition to many frequent crowded Metro-North trains coming and going from GCT, five New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subway lines serve the Terminal. Just as the MNR trains are long and crowded, so are the subways, as is often seen any many movies and television episodes depicting New York City.
There was a phase in my life where I didn't much care for cities. I had visited New York City in the very early 80s, and at the time it lived up to the dystopian image portrayed in film back then. The City was going through hard times. But the City of that era is gone, replaced by the modern city it has become. Sure, there are things that need improvement, especially its antiquated century old subway system, itself a mish-mash of three separate systems build on two different and competing standards and suffering from capitalist-motivated neglect (an irony in the nation's center for finance), but overall, The City is a very exciting place. I firmly believe that if you find yourself bored in The City, then you simply brought it upon yourself. There is always something to do there for any type of person, even the non-traditional bicyclist.
I take pride in being a social scientist (clearly one who actually understands the title's meaning much more than Peter Navarro). As one, I cannot help but look at The City with a curious, fascinated eye. There is always something going on there. And just as often, somebody interesting to listen to, such as the lone man with the portable electronic keyboard serenading riders on the the 42nd Street Grand Central - Times Square Shuttle.
I have been applying my social science background in American Indian organization management to explore The City from another perspective, it being home to a great number of Native Americans and a general desire among urban American Indians to connect to their communities. But this is for a future article. For now, I will focus on the pointing out how powerful a pandemic can bring a large, active city – a nation's center for economic activity – to a practical halt.
Sadly, in this dark, down time for The City, we lack a compassionate, caring leader who not just shows, but possesses genuine empathy for its and its people’s struggles. Fortunately we have a world leader who filled the void we need right now in this time of crisis with no clear endpoint. What’s next for The City? As with all disasters, things will return to normal, albeit a “new normal”, but in time people will again venture out to do things and buy things. Other’s will return to business, although who exactly survives this crisis is unclear, time will only tell (with apologies to my social scientist friends fluent in econometrics, I’m not that kind of social scientist). Grand Central will eventually become a full, active, dizzying hub, especially so after the new Long Island terminal is completed and opened. But the question about who survives and remains is left open. One think to think about is the trickle-down effect that New York City will have on the United States as a whole, for all the people who work there contribute to moving our country’s money, either directly or in support of those conducting or negotiating macro-level trade and finance. It is a major center for commerce and trade that impacts all reaches of American society, even distant corners in Red America. That, for me at least, is the social science experiment to follow. What happens to a nation when its major economic center is shut down.
For now, I think about all the people I either know personally, or whom I’ve met informally. I look forward to again being able to see you on the walking path, in the parks, in the museums. I look forward to seeing the cultural parties in neighborhood parks and mini concerts on the subway platforms. I look forward to new-found favorite places to eat. I even look forward to a dog from that Sabrett’s cart on the southwest corner of GCT. I hope all of you are safe over there.
Ellis Island, ©Joseph Scott Gladstone, 2020
