At exactly 10:07 last Monday morning, I walked out of my apartment on West 23rd Street and down the block to the corner barbershop that had been closed since March 16. It had been more than three months, during which my hair had grown long, unruly, and resembling, at its worst moments, a look that Medusa would have admired. Outside the barbershop, which had opened just seven minutes earlier, was a line of nearly a dozen men snaking down the sidewalk, some sitting on socially distanced benches, others standing nearby and scrolling through text messages on their iPhones. A sign hung on the front door: “You must wear a mask to enter.” I joined the line and waited my turn.
This scene has no doubt been duplicated dozens of times over the past week, from the Upper East Side and East Harlem to Bay Ridge and Bushwick, as the five boroughs of Manhattan were officially given the green light to enter Phase 2 of the reopening process. Within days, restaurants and bars had colonized sidewalks and even parts of the street, setting up tables stationed six feet apart. Some announced their reopening with a hand-painted sign and even promises of free drinks to returning patrons, their mask-clad servers adapting to the new normal. Shoppers have returned to Fifth Avenue and downtown Manhattan. Commuters are gingerly passing through Grand Central Station and taking the freshly sanitized subway.
As these photos and videos from Sam Youkilis show, New York is coming back to life, slowly and cautiously. It is a reawakening worth celebrating. Just make sure to keep your mask on. —Stuart Emmrich
