A GET WELL CARD TO NEW YORK CITY

"And we're going to get through it because we are New York, and because we've dealt with a lot of things, and because we are smart. You have to be smart to make it in New York And we are resourceful and we are showing how resourceful we are. And because we are united, and when you are united, there is nothing you can't do. And because we are New York tough. We are tough. You have to be tough. This place makes you tough. But it makes you tough in a good way. We are going to make it because I love New York, and I love New York because New York loves you."

"New York loves all of you. Black and white and brown and Asian and short and tall and gay and straight. New York loves everyone. That's why I love New York. It always has, it always will. And at the end of the day, my friends, even if it is a long day, and this is a long day, love wins. Always. And it will win again through this virus. Thank you."

- NY Governor Andrew Cuomo
  March 25, 2020

New York City...........I want you back........

I want the noise, the grit, the crowded sidewalks.

I want the neon lights on Broadway, the billboards.

and the skyscrapers.

I want the concrete, the hot dog carts, and the tourists who walk too slowly.

I want the bagels, the Michelin restaurants, and the sea of yellow taxis.

I want you just the way you were.  

The photos below have been taken by me over the years.

I want to stroll the High Line without worrying about social distancing.

 I want to walk through Times Square on a summer night when it's teeming with tourists. 

 I want to saunter through Bryant Park, when it's packed at lunch time.

I want to sit on the steps of the New York Public Library right next to total strangers.  

 I want to sit shoulder to shoulder with 20,000 folks in Madison Square Garden.

I want to wander through Central Park with the masses.

I want to join a gaggle of gawkers gathered on the sidewalk to watch the street performers.

I want to stand with a crowd on a corner, waiting for the "Don't Walk" sign to change.

I want to see hoards of theater-goers walking through Shubert Alley.

I want to sit in a jam-packed restaurant, eating the best corned-beef sandwich in the world.

I want to be squished into a seat in a Broadway theater. 

I want to ride the subway, even if we're packed in like sardines.

I want to be among the throngs of people hanging around the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

I want it to be so busy in Grand Central Station that's it "like being in Grand Central Station." 

Please get well soon, New York City.

The world needs you, healthy and strong. 

🗽💓🗽💓🗽💓🗽💓🗽 

With love,