Public Project
Tribeca in the Time of Coronavirus
Tribeca is a tiny enclave southwest of Canal Street in downtown Manhattan. When the pandemic hit New York City, many went away.
From March to June Tribeca was an empty shell of calm. Still, every night people burst out of their windows at 7 to bang on pots and pans and show appreciation for the self-sacrificing heroes of the pandemic.
Throughout the dark cold months of spring, the neighborhood practiced restraint. Covid-19 was the collective enemy. The way to be protected as well as protect others was by wearing masks and gloves in public. New Yorkers were compliant until social awareness of the systemic police brutality done to black and brown Americans and then defiant protesting became a universal demand for justice.
Mostly I had stayed away from crowds during the early clashes between the police and the protestors. Until one night the mountain came to me.
Apocalyptic sounds of choppers in the sky over my building on West Broadway and Leonard Street ordered me out of the comfort zone.
The following video documents what happened the night when bike pedaling police officers encircled and barked at protestors, ironically in front of the New York Law School Library.
The slideshow of photographs was culled from the last four months.
One of my takeaways is that masks are not only preventative but they are cool. Masks do good and people feel good when they wear them.
Donna Ferrato 06.16.20
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