The Wall Street Journal - 07.04.2020

(coco) #1

A12B| Tuesday, April 7, 2020 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.


Side. She cites a statement
from the 216-year-old institu-
tion’s founders: “If we do not
collect and preserve right now,
history will be nothing more
than dust and speculation.”
The New-York Historical
Society is hardly alone in tak-
ing this approach. The New
York State Museum, located in
Albany, N.Y., and the Museum
of the City of New York also
are starting efforts to chroni-

cle the pandemic. So are insti-
tutions outside New York, such
as the Atlanta History Center.
“We are realizing a lot of
things are ephemeral,” said
Sheffield Hale, president and
chief executive of the Atlanta
institution, referring to the
relevant documents and ob-
jects that are often unwittingly
discarded after a major histor-
ical event. “If you don’t cap-
ture them now, they’re gone.”
To some extent, it was 9/
that changed how archivists
approach contemporary his-
tory, many in the museum
field say. The terrorist attacks
weren’t only significant, but
also left a record that easily
could be preserved, be it in
the form of relics from the
former World Trade Center or
photographs or video record-
ings taken that day.
Indeed, the New-York His-
torical Society started its work

chronicling the story of 9/
within a day of the tragedy,
Ms. Mirrer said. By November
2001, the institution presented
its first exhibit devoted to 9/11.
Chronicling a pandemic
poses unique challenges, said
officials with the society and
other institutions. Chief
among them is the fact that
field work, as in meeting with
individuals and soliciting
items of merit, is difficult,
given the need for social dis-
tancing.
The New-York Historical
Society is nevertheless finding
ways to work around the situ-
ation. It has reached out to
shopkeepers about keeping
signs they have placed in their
windows for collection at a
later time.
It has also been able to
gather a few items, such as
some do-it-yourself face masks
and a decorative rock, created

by a Queens resident, that
reads, “This too shall pass.”
The Museum of the City of
New York is taking a different
approach and inviting New
Yorkers to share photos, via
Instagram, that offer a win-
dow into their lives. The mu-
seum plans to review the pic-
tures and likely will share
some of them on other plat-
forms, said Lindsay Turley, the
institution’s vice president of
collections.
Even as the institutions do
their chronicling work, they
also are doing their part to
help. The New York State Mu-
seum recently made available
20,000 pairs of rubber gloves,
normally used for handling
rare or delicate documents, to
medical workers, given the
need for such supplies.
“That’s the opposite of col-
lecting,” said Mark Schaming,
the museum’s director.

Many Are Worried About Their Finances


New York City could be fac-
ing its most challenging week
to date during the novel coro-
navirus pandemic. But for
Louise Mirrer, president and
chief executive officer of the
New-York Historical Society,
there is no point in waiting
until the worst passes before
thinking about documenting
the moment in time.
Ms. Mirrer is leading her
team of roughly 360 employ-
ees to gather what they can
that tells the story of the vi-
rus’ spread and how it put the
city at a standstill. Items the
society is seeking range from
signs in shop windows to do-
it-yourself face masks.
The idea of capturing his-
tory in the moment, said Ms.
Mirrer, is built into the DNA of
the society, which is located
on Manhattan’s Upper West

BYCHARLESPASSY

Museums Begin Chronicling the Deadly Crisis


New-York Historical Society is
capturing history in the moment.

LISA JOHANSEN

About three-quarters of
New York state residents are
concerned the coronavirus
crisis will cause them serious
financial problems, according
to a new poll released Mon-
day.
The Siena College Research
Institute poll also found that
51% of New Yorkers are wor-
ried they won’t be able to
meet their monthly financial
obligations, with 37% con-
cerned about being laid off.
New York state accounts
for 36% of the country’s
337,971 Covid-19 cases, ac-
cording to data as of Monday
morning from Johns Hopkins
University. The virus has led
to closure of nonessential
businesses in the state.
New York’s Department of
Labor processed more than
369,000 initial unemployment
applications in the week that
ended March 28, representing
a 2,674% increase compared
with the same week last year.
The outbreak has taken a
physical and emotional toll on

New Yorkers’ lives as well.
About 95% of residents say
they are either quarantining
or practicing social distanc-
ing, and only 4% are going

about their lives as usual, ac-
cording to the poll.
Two-thirds of those sur-
veyed say their anxiety level
is up, and more than 60% of

younger residents in the state
say that “not being with other
people is making them
lonely,” the poll showed.
Meanwhile, 60% of all New

Yorkers say that “if it wasn’t
for the ability to see and talk
to others via the internet,
they think they’d be going
crazy,” the poll found.
“The coronavirus crisis has
turned life upside down for
nearly all New Yorkers,” said
Don Levy, the director of the
institute.
The poll is a survey of ran-
dom phone calls to 402 New
York adults and 400 drawn
from a proprietary panel of
New Yorkers from March 30
to April 2. It has a margin of
error of 3.6 percentage points.
The poll had some encour-
aging findings: 76% of New
Yorkers say they feel like they
are “enjoying the small things
even more now,” and 75% say
that they are “appreciating
the extra time that they are
having with those that are
close to them.”
“With all the things to
worry about—health, money,
food and bills—most of us say
that we feel like we are enjoy-
ing the small things even
more now than before,” Mr.
Levy said.

BYLEEHAWKINS

A poll found 51% of New Yorkers fear they won’t be able to meet their monthly financial obligations.

KENA BETANCUR/GETTY IMAGES

A Rikers Island inmate who
had tested positive for the
new coronavirus died Sunday,
marking the New York City jail
complex’s first death of an in-
mate who fell ill from the dis-
ease, officials said.
The Rikers Island inmate,
identified by his attorneys as
Michael Tyson, 53 years old,
was moved to Bellevue Hospi-
tal in Manhattan on March 26
after becoming ill, Department
of Correction officials said.
Mr. Tyson’s attorneys said
he had been jailed for alleg-
edly violating his parole after
being released following a
conviction for attempted drug
sales. His family couldn’t be
reached for comment.
The city Office of Chief Medi-
cal Examiner has yet to deter-
mine Mr. Tyson’s cause of death.
According to Department of
Correction records, there were
273 Rikers inmates with con-
firmed cases of the coronavi-
rus as of Monday. Another 374
jail workers have been con-
firmed to have the virus, ac-
cording to the department.
Four Department of Correc-
tion staffers have died from
Covid-19, the disease caused
by the virus, said Peter
Thorne, a department spokes-
man. Mr. Thorne declined to
name the deceased workers,
citing privacy concerns.
City and law-enforcement
officials have moved to reduce
the population of Rikers Island
by releasing inmates and pros-
ecuting fewer low-level crimes.
There were 4,485 inmates as
of Friday, the latest Depart-
ment of Correction figures
show, down from about 5,
before those efforts began.
Jail officials said they are
taking steps to limit the
spread of the virus. As of Fri-
day, the department expanded
the scope of its distribution of
masks to all staff and inmates.


BYBENCHAPMAN


Pandemic


Claims


First Rikers


Prisoner


YOU CAN


PLAN AHEAD


DISASTERS DON’T


DON’T WAIT. COMMUNICATE.


Talktoyourlovedonesabouthowyouare
goingtobereadyinanemergency.

VISIT NYC.GOV/READYNY OR CALL 311.


GREATER NEW YORK


NY
Free download pdf