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When the City Stopped
Stories from New York's Essential Workers
Robert W. Snyder (Author)
9781501780387
Paperback / softback, published 15 March 2025
352 pages, 24 b&w halftones, 1 map, 4 charts - 24 Halftones, black and white - 1 Maps - 4 Charts
21.6 x 14 x 2.1 cm, 0.454 kg
The real-life experiences of New Yorkers during the COVID-19 outbreak are at the heart of this collection of as-told-to stories. Snyder highlights the actions, big and small, that people took to help the city survive, including medical personnel who collaborated across hospitals to find health-care solutions, and bus drivers who stayed on their routes. Snyder made a point that I thought about as this week approached. By 2020, the influenza epidemic of 1918 had been forgotten by many people, but not by historians and epidemiologists. This book is a model for interviews and oral history. But its reference to "state of amnesia" reminds us of how important and difficult it is to recall history, particularly in times of crises, and how easy it is to ignore or downplay the past.
In When the City Stopped, Robert Snyder tells the story of COVID-19 in the words of ordinary New Yorkers, illuminating the fear and uncertainty of life in the early weeks and months, as well as the solidarity that sustained the city. New Yorkers were "alone together," separated by the protective measures of social distancing and the fundamental inequalities of life and work in New York City. Through their personal accounts, we see that while many worked from home, others knowingly exposed themselves to the dangers of the pandemic as they drove buses, ran subways, answered 911 calls, tended to the sick, and made and delivered meals.
Snyder builds bridges of knowledge and empathy between those who bore dangerous burdens and those who lived in relative safety. The story is told through the words of health care workers, grocery clerks, transit workers, and community activists who recount their experiences in poems, first-person narratives, and interviews. When the City Stopped preserves for future generations what it was like to be in New York when it was at the center of the pandemic.
Introduction
1. Early Days, Winter 2020
2. Working for the Public's Health, Spring 2020
3. Work Turned Upside Down, Spring to Fall 2020
4. Losses, Spring 2020
5. Coping, Spring 2020
6. Opening Up, Summer and Fall 2020
7. Vaccines and After, 2021
8. Reflections, 2023