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What Was The Last Fun Thing You Did In Pre-Pandemic NYC?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 1, 2021
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Jen Carlson / Gothamist
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 1, 2021
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Around this time last year, we were all hearing the word "pandemic" a lot more than we were comfortable with – it was suddenly everywhere following a press call with Nancy Messonnier of the CDC, in which she warned Americans to start preparing for an extremely contagious disease, COVID-19, that could disrupt our daily routines.
"This might be bad," Messionnier declared toward the end of February 2020. "I understand that this may seem overwhelming but these are things people need to start thinking about now." In the weeks that followed, you may have found you were stocking up on hand sanitizer and wearing gloves on the subway, all while trepidatiously meeting a friend for a drink at a bar. An uncrowded one. Maybe you washed your hands a few times while there, for the length of two Happy Birthday verses.
A few weeks later the city was a different place, and you were wearing your first mask anytime you left your apartment for a walk.
As we approach the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shutting New York City down, we want to look back at the last fun thing we did in pre-pandemic NYC. We'll be sharing some essays and some of your own anecdotes in the coming weeks.
What was the last fun thing you did before the city's restaurants, bars, and creative sector ground to a halt? Share your experience — email us at [email protected] (subject line: The Last Fun Thing). You can send us a short paragraph, and/or a voice recording using the Voice Memo app on your phone. Please also let us know what neighborhood you are in, and how you would like to be credited (anonymous, full name, first name only, etc).
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pandemic
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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