Not That New York!
I had to go out in city this week, during COVID 19 pandemic. The streets were empty like no one has seen them before. It took 20 mins to reach were it almost always takes more than an hour. And no one dares to drive or take a cab assuming it will take more. The holland tunnel was empty, no vehicle in sight. Traffic non-existent. Looking at The street that I have been to almost every day in last 10 years, I realized that this is longest time I have not been there except when I went to Patna for three months. Handful of people all in masks. It looked like a ghost town. The Penn station, Times Square - looked like a set of filming a ghost Gotham city. Although Times Square was still glowing as always but empty. The places that were never empty are unbelievably quiet now. Closed offices with no one around. Central Park was as beautiful as always in spring. And I head someone asking in Central Park - “is this where they do ball drops?”. It felt nice that still a handful of people that I see are tourists. How can there not be a tourist in New York city ! There were boards in Central Park - with signs “KEEP THIS FAR APART” - but there was hardly anyone to distance from.