Since Sunday, New York photographer David Williams has been roving the streets of the city, capturing it as people adjusted to the coronavirus. At first, there was not much to see; New Yorkers, predictably, tried hard to retain their routines. But on Thursday, after Governor Cuomo declared a ban on gatherings larger than 500, and dozens of cultural institutions announced closures, all that began to change. For a city where the streets are our living rooms, the emptying of public spaces can feel like its own invasion, a hollowing out of what makes New York home.
*This article appears in the March 16, 2020, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
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