SPECIAL PROJECT: New York has a buzz again, if somewhat hushed. It’s heard, in passing, on subway platforms resuming 24-hour service, in classrooms that are seeing students again, and in the restaurants that have slowly invited customers inside. On Zoom calls, bosses are trying to coordinate how workers climb back into skyscrapers.
More than a year after New York City became the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic—in a country unable to contain its spread—there’s a sense of hope. There’s reason for that, too. New Yorkers banded together with mutual aid. They promoted one another on social media. They have largely complied with mask mandates intended to reduce the airborne spread of the virus, even during dark winter months when the virus had another surge. Perhaps more importantly, vaccination rates are up.
