Any other NY'ers here in the midst of this horror?
Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: NYC
Posts: 71
Hello all,
NYC here. I’m a quiet member. Just my thoughts from here in the city-just when I was feeling a slight lightening of the pandemic, another tragic event/situation unfolds No words really to describe what we’ve seen are living through these past 4 months. At least our Covid stats are better by the day. I know of many lives lost. It will take quite some time for healing.
NYC here. I’m a quiet member. Just my thoughts from here in the city-just when I was feeling a slight lightening of the pandemic, another tragic event/situation unfolds No words really to describe what we’ve seen are living through these past 4 months. At least our Covid stats are better by the day. I know of many lives lost. It will take quite some time for healing.
p***enger
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Posts: 19,025
sortofhomecomin -- no worries. For those of us living in NYC -- and not just here, and I have a niece in Madison whose streetcorner was blocked by a burning vehicle -- this topic is raw. It's like if I had relapsed last night, and someone was offering me advice instead of a cup of tea. 
citygirl, thanks for chiming in. I hope you are staying safe, and are able to express your needs & wants without fear, and live and work where you can thrive.
My husband and I have talked, and we both expect to stay in the city. He's NYC born and bred, and I never wanted to live anywhere else -- my parents took me to visit when I was 6, and I remember thinking, why isn't everywhere like this, it's perfect! Even though I've lived in many other places for long times, I never belonged anywhere else. But a lot of good people will very reasonably leave. Especially if companies decide it's too volatile to do business.
citygirl, thanks for chiming in. I hope you are staying safe, and are able to express your needs & wants without fear, and live and work where you can thrive.
My husband and I have talked, and we both expect to stay in the city. He's NYC born and bred, and I never wanted to live anywhere else -- my parents took me to visit when I was 6, and I remember thinking, why isn't everywhere like this, it's perfect! Even though I've lived in many other places for long times, I never belonged anywhere else. But a lot of good people will very reasonably leave. Especially if companies decide it's too volatile to do business.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 412
Covid 19 is weakening like SARS apparently so that is a bit of good news in terms of the longevity of NYC. Love how the media said if you are not social distancing and going out you are basically a murderer but are fine with what has been going on in NYC and around the globe where tens of thousands of people are standing right next to each other. Not allowed to reopen a business or work but looting and burning stuff down a business is fine. Think companies see for the most part you can work remotely and not going to pay these insane rents anymore with crazy taxes. I lived in NYC my entire life and think we will see a massive exodus as it was already happening before COVID-19. I love NYC but don't ever see it being the same as it was before might be time to move on.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,384
Originally Posted by Newbeginning421 
Covid 19 is weakening like SARS apparently so that is a bit of good news in terms of the longevity of NYC. Love how the media said if you are not social distancing and going out you are basically a murderer but are fine with what has been going on in NYC and around the globe where tens of thousands of people are standing right next to each other. Not allowed to reopen a business or work but looting and burning stuff down a business is fine. Think companies see for the most part you can work remotely and not going to pay these insane rents anymore with crazy taxes. I lived in NYC my entire life and think we will see a massive exodus as it was already happening before COVID-19. I love NYC but don't ever see it being the same as it was before might be time to move on.
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ics-again.html (Politics...again)
Its always been there but we're really sticking to it now in the interests of SR community unity.
Please follow it.
D
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
Let's not try to project the end of this poor city very much yet, friends. Things change pretty dramatically every week now, sometimes every other day... We have not even opened up yet after the lockdown much other than the mass protests/riots etc... I think waiting until next year with making strong predictions (and especially decisions whether we want to stay or go) is probably quite realistic. Who knows, maybe the new city (when things stabilize) will be even more interesting than what many of us have loved so much? Who the heck knows anything anymore
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
I don't have any predictions. Based on what?
Some days, all of this, everything that's been going on, is just very, very sad. Sometimes it's just too much weight to bear.
People I know are different. I'm different. The world is different.
My love affair with New York City began to sour many years ago with mass gentrification in at least three boroughs. Rich vs poor. It rarely ends well for only one of those groups.
The Chinese are selling, have been selling, and are/have been leaving Chinatown. Little Italy has shrunken to maybe two-and-a-half blocks.
Too much glass and steel. Too many displaced families and small-business owners. Too many high-rise residential buildings that no one here who actually works for a living can afford.
The East Village and SoHo were transformed to accommodate a range of expensive boutiques and wealthy renters and buyers. Unless Mommy, Daddy, or a wealthy benefactor pays for it, there are very few places someone struggling to get by as an artist, a student, or a regular human being can afford.
Some days, all of this, everything that's been going on, is just very, very sad. Sometimes it's just too much weight to bear.
People I know are different. I'm different. The world is different.
My love affair with New York City began to sour many years ago with mass gentrification in at least three boroughs. Rich vs poor. It rarely ends well for only one of those groups.
The Chinese are selling, have been selling, and are/have been leaving Chinatown. Little Italy has shrunken to maybe two-and-a-half blocks.
Too much glass and steel. Too many displaced families and small-business owners. Too many high-rise residential buildings that no one here who actually works for a living can afford.
The East Village and SoHo were transformed to accommodate a range of expensive boutiques and wealthy renters and buyers. Unless Mommy, Daddy, or a wealthy benefactor pays for it, there are very few places someone struggling to get by as an artist, a student, or a regular human being can afford.
p***enger
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Posts: 19,025
When I came to NYC I lived in an outer borough, but close to Manhattan. It was quite affordable and a decent place to raise a child. There are lots of places in the boroughs I'd recommend living, and they're affordable, and most of them will never gentrify. Picture the gentrification of Corona or Midwood. The boroughs are, in many ways, the lifeblood of NYC.
Now in Manhattan, I live on the far east side in a middling "white brick building" -- I'm sure you know the type. I work for a public system of higher education with that costs less than $7000 a year for a full time student to attend -- less than $5000 per year in the community colleges. My neighbors are regular people. The median per capita income in my neighborhood is lower than Manhattan overall and higher than mine, which is pretty much same as a public school teachers' with the same years' experience. I'm just a regular person. My neighbors are nurses, school counselors, legal assistants, lab technicians, psychologists. 1 guy's a pediatrician who has 5 kids to feed and put through college - given those expenses, he wouldn't be a rich guy by any standards. Not fancy types. Not poor, either. We're pretty regular. One of the fun things I can do is walk less than a mile in my apartment and share the sidewalk -- sometimes less than 6 ft away! -- with people who wear designer clothes, while there I am in my $10 t-shirt from Kohls. Hedge-fund managers and paralegals, people who stock shelves, and cut hair -- all living in NYC.
New York is not just a rich person's town. That's one of the many things that makes it great.
Now in Manhattan, I live on the far east side in a middling "white brick building" -- I'm sure you know the type. I work for a public system of higher education with that costs less than $7000 a year for a full time student to attend -- less than $5000 per year in the community colleges. My neighbors are regular people. The median per capita income in my neighborhood is lower than Manhattan overall and higher than mine, which is pretty much same as a public school teachers' with the same years' experience. I'm just a regular person. My neighbors are nurses, school counselors, legal assistants, lab technicians, psychologists. 1 guy's a pediatrician who has 5 kids to feed and put through college - given those expenses, he wouldn't be a rich guy by any standards. Not fancy types. Not poor, either. We're pretty regular. One of the fun things I can do is walk less than a mile in my apartment and share the sidewalk -- sometimes less than 6 ft away! -- with people who wear designer clothes, while there I am in my $10 t-shirt from Kohls. Hedge-fund managers and paralegals, people who stock shelves, and cut hair -- all living in NYC.
New York is not just a rich person's town. That's one of the many things that makes it great.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
Originally Posted by courage2
When I came to NYC I lived in an outer borough, but close to Manhattan. It was quite affordable and a decent place to raise a child. There are lots of places in the boroughs I'd recommend living, and they're affordable, and most of them will never gentrify. Picture the gentrification of Corona or Midwood. The boroughs are, in many ways, the lifeblood of NYC.
Now in Manhattan, I live on the far east side in a middling "white brick building" -- I'm sure you know the type. I work for a public system of higher education with that costs less than $7000 a year for a full time student to attend -- less than $5000 per year in the community colleges. My neighbors are regular people. The median per capita income in my neighborhood is lower than Manhattan overall and higher than mine, which is pretty much same as a public school teachers' with the same years' experience. I'm just a regular person. My neighbors are nurses, school counselors, legal assistants, lab technicians, psychologists. 1 guy's a pediatrician who has 5 kids to feed and put through college - given those expenses, he wouldn't be a rich guy by any standards. Not fancy types. Not poor, either. We're pretty regular. One of the fun things I can do is walk less than a mile in my apartment and share the sidewalk -- sometimes less than 6 ft away! -- with people who wear designer clothes, while there I am in my $10 t-shirt from Kohls. Hedge-fund managers and paralegals, people who stock shelves, and cut hair -- all living in NYC.
New York is not just a rich person's town. That's one of the many things that makes it great.
Now in Manhattan, I live on the far east side in a middling "white brick building" -- I'm sure you know the type. I work for a public system of higher education with that costs less than $7000 a year for a full time student to attend -- less than $5000 per year in the community colleges. My neighbors are regular people. The median per capita income in my neighborhood is lower than Manhattan overall and higher than mine, which is pretty much same as a public school teachers' with the same years' experience. I'm just a regular person. My neighbors are nurses, school counselors, legal assistants, lab technicians, psychologists. 1 guy's a pediatrician who has 5 kids to feed and put through college - given those expenses, he wouldn't be a rich guy by any standards. Not fancy types. Not poor, either. We're pretty regular. One of the fun things I can do is walk less than a mile in my apartment and share the sidewalk -- sometimes less than 6 ft away! -- with people who wear designer clothes, while there I am in my $10 t-shirt from Kohls. Hedge-fund managers and paralegals, people who stock shelves, and cut hair -- all living in NYC.
New York is not just a rich person's town. That's one of the many things that makes it great.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
Interesting time for starting to reopen the city now... after ~two weeks of intense mass gatherings and not much collective care about social distancing. The coming 1-2 weeks will certainly be critical in many ways. At least people can get easily tested for COVID at this point.
Coffee Snob
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: USA
Posts: 808
Originally Posted by courage2
When I came to NYC I lived in an outer borough, but close to Manhattan. It was quite affordable and a decent place to raise a child. There are lots of places in the boroughs I'd recommend living, and they're affordable, and most of them will never gentrify. Picture the gentrification of Corona or Midwood. The boroughs are, in many ways, the lifeblood of NYC.
Now in Manhattan, I live on the far east side in a middling "white brick building" -- I'm sure you know the type. I work for a public system of higher education with that costs less than $7000 a year for a full time student to attend -- less than $5000 per year in the community colleges. My neighbors are regular people. The median per capita income in my neighborhood is lower than Manhattan overall and higher than mine, which is pretty much same as a public school teachers' with the same years' experience. I'm just a regular person. My neighbors are nurses, school counselors, legal assistants, lab technicians, psychologists. 1 guy's a pediatrician who has 5 kids to feed and put through college - given those expenses, he wouldn't be a rich guy by any standards. Not fancy types. Not poor, either. We're pretty regular. One of the fun things I can do is walk less than a mile in my apartment and share the sidewalk -- sometimes less than 6 ft away! -- with people who wear designer clothes, while there I am in my $10 t-shirt from Kohls. Hedge-fund managers and paralegals, people who stock shelves, and cut hair -- all living in NYC.
New York is not just a rich person's town. That's one of the many things that makes it great.
Now in Manhattan, I live on the far east side in a middling "white brick building" -- I'm sure you know the type. I work for a public system of higher education with that costs less than $7000 a year for a full time student to attend -- less than $5000 per year in the community colleges. My neighbors are regular people. The median per capita income in my neighborhood is lower than Manhattan overall and higher than mine, which is pretty much same as a public school teachers' with the same years' experience. I'm just a regular person. My neighbors are nurses, school counselors, legal assistants, lab technicians, psychologists. 1 guy's a pediatrician who has 5 kids to feed and put through college - given those expenses, he wouldn't be a rich guy by any standards. Not fancy types. Not poor, either. We're pretty regular. One of the fun things I can do is walk less than a mile in my apartment and share the sidewalk -- sometimes less than 6 ft away! -- with people who wear designer clothes, while there I am in my $10 t-shirt from Kohls. Hedge-fund managers and paralegals, people who stock shelves, and cut hair -- all living in NYC.
New York is not just a rich person's town. That's one of the many things that makes it great.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
Do any of you guys feel weird while re-engaging? The past few days, when I went out and actually interacted quasi-normally, it felt subjectively a bit scary and aversive for me. Including the first time today, when I went to my medical school employer. I felt disoriented approaching campus, even more inside, but nothing bad happened and I got out apparently unscathed hours later. It's not that I am afraid, just the difference. A lot of me is still full-on COVID protective mode, and all the loosening outside.
How is everyone doing in NY?
How is everyone doing in NY?
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
I move in and out of the reality that is determined by consensus, the one that's reportedly agreed-upon and taken for granted. The one we thought we knew. I'm fully aware that this back-and-forth is a defense, a pause, and an escape.
It's difficult to concentrate for periods of time. More episodes of free-floating anxiety. No serious problems with mood.
I walk a lot and have been walking more than before the pandemic was acknowledged. (If we pretend that it isn' there, then it isn't there.)
There are a lot of things that I no longer care about, others that have gotten renewed attention, and others that are new to me. I wish I could explain it better than that.
Life can be difficult at times.
I notice that some people are moving quickly to at least pretend that things are "normal," having fully invested in the mythical American dream since childhood. It's too much to bear to let that go. Other people are being more cautious, preferring instead to take hold of themselves and engage with the demands of immediate reality.
Nothing has changed with SARS-CoV-2: People continue to be infected and continue to infect other people. The virus still kills people and it still makes lots of other people who have it wish they were dead.
Life is cheap in the US in the 21st Century
Break it up, folks. Show's over, nothin' left to see here...Move along
It's difficult to concentrate for periods of time. More episodes of free-floating anxiety. No serious problems with mood.
I walk a lot and have been walking more than before the pandemic was acknowledged. (If we pretend that it isn' there, then it isn't there.)
There are a lot of things that I no longer care about, others that have gotten renewed attention, and others that are new to me. I wish I could explain it better than that.
Life can be difficult at times.
I notice that some people are moving quickly to at least pretend that things are "normal," having fully invested in the mythical American dream since childhood. It's too much to bear to let that go. Other people are being more cautious, preferring instead to take hold of themselves and engage with the demands of immediate reality.
Nothing has changed with SARS-CoV-2: People continue to be infected and continue to infect other people. The virus still kills people and it still makes lots of other people who have it wish they were dead.
Life is cheap in the US in the 21st Century
Break it up, folks. Show's over, nothin' left to see here...Move along
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Yes, the shootings have become a major concern in different parts of the city. I don’t see violence decreasing over a long, hot summer. We sometimes need to make difficult choices.
People who don’t know the city all that well may be picturing something out of the Wild West. It isn’t like that, but shooting incidents have been increasing. We’re not the only place where this is happening.
I was living here during the summer of Son of Sam, when it seemed as though the entire city was on edge.
As has been true of many parts of NYC, my neighborhood has been overrun with fireworks for I-don’t-remember how long. Not the sparklers or bottle rockets, but the very loud ones. The ones that carry smaller portions of dynamite. Doesn’t end until sometime after 1:30 AM and often goes until 3:00 AM.
I think this needs to be negotiated on the community level rather than bringing in the police to break things up.
Also are the new, nearly-silent electric scooters, big enough to accommodate two people, that ride along the sidewalks, against traffic, and through red lights. Beginning at around one in the morning, they open up and fly down the hilly streets around here before stopping short near the end of the street which then produces a loud screeching sound.
Some of my neighbors call 311, others call 911. I sit quietly, distracted by my presence in the room.
It’s not just that I’m an old man. The dogs who live in my building look as though they’re experiencing chronic PTSD, as do some of those who are able to make it outside.
People with difficulty falling or staying asleep are suffering. Young children and older adults. It’s a serious public health issue that’s overlooked because “at least nobody’s getting killed.” And because there are overriding priorities.
This is an opportunity for neighborhoods and communities to unburden law enforcement of matters that don’t necessarily require their presence.
As I post this, the fireworks just started.
People who don’t know the city all that well may be picturing something out of the Wild West. It isn’t like that, but shooting incidents have been increasing. We’re not the only place where this is happening.
I was living here during the summer of Son of Sam, when it seemed as though the entire city was on edge.
As has been true of many parts of NYC, my neighborhood has been overrun with fireworks for I-don’t-remember how long. Not the sparklers or bottle rockets, but the very loud ones. The ones that carry smaller portions of dynamite. Doesn’t end until sometime after 1:30 AM and often goes until 3:00 AM.
I think this needs to be negotiated on the community level rather than bringing in the police to break things up.
Also are the new, nearly-silent electric scooters, big enough to accommodate two people, that ride along the sidewalks, against traffic, and through red lights. Beginning at around one in the morning, they open up and fly down the hilly streets around here before stopping short near the end of the street which then produces a loud screeching sound.
Some of my neighbors call 311, others call 911. I sit quietly, distracted by my presence in the room.
It’s not just that I’m an old man. The dogs who live in my building look as though they’re experiencing chronic PTSD, as do some of those who are able to make it outside.
People with difficulty falling or staying asleep are suffering. Young children and older adults. It’s a serious public health issue that’s overlooked because “at least nobody’s getting killed.” And because there are overriding priorities.
This is an opportunity for neighborhoods and communities to unburden law enforcement of matters that don’t necessarily require their presence.
As I post this, the fireworks just started.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
No fireworks in my neighborhood. Hopefully that will never happen, because I am very noise-sensitive. Which brings me... I changed something in my medication regimen last week, and I really don't like it now! I think it really interferes with my "reality", and I am stopping it now and calling the provider.
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