New York in the pandemic

Antje Passenheim in conversation with Katja Bigalke

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Queue in front of a vaccination center in Brooklyn: Antje Passenheim is amazed at how resolutely New Yorkers are facing the crisis. (imago images / ZUMA Wire)

Not even in the pandemic: The residents of New York cannot afford to be in limbo, says correspondent Antje Passenheim. You can even tell by how determined people are standing in line in front of the vaccination centers.

Are idling and indecision even possible in a metropolis that is determined by the motto “Time is Money”? Are there spaces to wait and linger here – and if so, how do New Yorkers perform there?

Has Corona perhaps contributed to a change in mentality also taking place in the financial and business metropolis?

“New Yorkers take this very seriously”

You can forget that even in a state of emergency in this pandemic, says correspondent Antje Passenheim. “Against this paralyzing mood, New Yorkers show a determination that amazes me every day,” she says.

Even in the mega-queues in front of the vaccination centers, people waited very decidedly, but also in front of supermarkets and sandwich shops – disciplined and sometimes around entire blocks.

“It’s handled very strictly here everywhere, with the distance and the number of customers inside. And New Yorkers take it very seriously,” says Antje Passenheim. That corresponds to the New York efficiency concept.

A crisis that produces a lot of new things

It is important to people to make it clear: Because we have already survived so many crises, there is no question that we will tackle these too – as New Yorkers. “And they are doing it with such determination that this crisis will produce a lot of new things.”

Morale is good and entrepreneurship is unchecked. This is also shown by the story of Shelby Veazey, who turned the furniture the city refugees left behind into a flea market with a pick-up and delivery service – and which Antje Passenheim also tells in her “Live on Tape”.

(hum)

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