Honestly at this point, New York is playing with fire. They need to completely shut down the city, including the MTA. The busy work life needs to happy atleast for a couple of weeks and that's not a bad thing. Everyone is quick to comment on needing to pay bills... Don't you think if the city shuts down that we won't be recompensated? At this point people need to stop thinking about the money and start thinking about life. A very nasty situation can get out of hand, and I think taking a 2 or 3 week break from all the craziness of the city can be a good thing. I am truly worried.
The amount of people I've seen out patronizing restaurants and bars is astounding. Broadway in Astoria was bustling with people seemingly oblivious to the danger just this Saturday. This afternoon while I was out getting some essential supplies, I saw one restaurant advertising a "pizza party" on Ditmars and the rest of the bars were open, business as usual. Our proud American habits of over consumption must change, right now. This is the perfect time to give up your car, give up beef, stop having children, and melt all the guns. Plant beans, greens, and tomatoes, in all viable soil. Buy durable goods, and optimize your resources. Maybe with some logic and compassion, we can manage the suffering of so many through small sacrifices.
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Gun and ammunition sales are skyrocketing.
Perhaps because people are afraid that those who advocate their not having families or taking the car to visit elderly relatives upstate will somehow prevail in our new world.
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I am sharing my thoughts:
Why is it that you, the NYT failed to mention that our illustrious Mayor (de Blasio), found time this morning to have a final workout at his gym in Brooklyn.
The city is in upheaval. The service industry is decimated. Citizens are dying. Schools are closed. Restaurants and retail establishments are floundering. Stores are having problems getting deliveries. Yet de Blasio, rather than concerning himself with his constituents, just had to get in one more workout.
If you do not print this, SHAME ON YOU!
If you do, thank you.
This is something that all citizens of our great city should know. Our Mayor and his priorities are far different than his constituents.
New York City, like most of the U.S. is behind the ball this time. And this sudden flurry of activity might not be able to head off the inevitable path of this Coronaviral outbreak.
Family members in Berlin have been calling me with updates on how it's going in a city where schools, bars, restaurants, museums, most unessential stores and movie theatres have been on lockdown -- and a country that just sealed its borders to traffic from France, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg to keep it from spreading.
While not as bad as Italy, Spain or France, there are more than 3,000 reported cases in Germany and a mounting death toll.
Americans have yet to take this all seriously.
We haven't even seen the beginning of this pandemic, but hopefully it's not too late to prepare to face it.
I have my doubts.
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Regarding the impact on NYC's economy - this will permanently destroy the small/local shops and restaurants that have managed to remain in the face of the city's hyper-gentrification.
Corporate chains and big real estate will completely take over.
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@SLM
They have already completely taken over.
There will be a lot of people out of work but I have the solution. All grocery stores, all the big box stores, should now go to full time delivery and away from in store shopping, take all these unemployed people, let them use their own car, or rent cars for them, thousands of delivery people delivering food 24 hours a day. Food right now is important and keeping people apart is even more important, this solves 2 problems at once. The key is everything is done by credit card, the tip is included in, money carries virus, no face to face contact at the door, they drop it off at your door, leave, then you collect it.
When people recover from the virus, and have the antibodies they will be perfect for this,
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The Lovelace on Pearl has some of the best gin and tonics in the City, and a great jazz program in the summer months. Love The Lovelace!!
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The Dutch also controlled Queens and still standing in Flushing - a Dutch name - is a monument to religious freedom - The Bowne House (https://www.bownehouse.org/) was built about 1660. It's a short walk from the last stop on the No. 7 train and worth a visit. Not far from the Bowne House is the Quaker Meeting house built in the 1690s. There is a lot of NYC outside of Manhattan.
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Surprised that the city did not specify closure of gyms, dance studios, Soul Cycle etc?
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@SLM - The governor specified those closures for the entire state in his news conference this morning, which was after your comment. He was actually pretty darn charming talking about it, noting that many in the room were in good shape so this may affect them.
It looks like the gym ban doesn't start until tonight - but I'm proud that whatever differences I've had with Gov. Cuomo's way of running things, I've put those aside in this case and been extremely diligent about this particular directive, and haven't been to the gym since February - 2018.
:)
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SLM,
Is Warren Wilhelm still going to the gym?
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