A Not-Quite-Restaurant Faces the New Reality

The restaurants of New York City have gone dark. But what of the not-quite-restaurants: the in-betweens with just a few wobbly chairs, the lunch counters that hedge bets by selling groceries alongside hot food, the tiny spots whose very grasp at existence is a daily improvisation? On Monday, Mirna Elisabeth Marroquin and Lorenzo Garcia were…

From Zoom University to the Zoom Party

On Sunday afternoon, Eleanor Dolan celebrated her 17th birthday in Minnesota with 20 of her closest friends. They listened to pop music and traded jokes. When the group broke out into “Happy Birthday to You,” Eleanor pulled a slice of cookie cheesecake close in front of her and pretended to blow out the toothpick she…

The Last Workout

Mayor Bill de Blasio wasn’t the only New Yorker who squeezed in an 11th-hour workout before gyms shut down in New York and elsewhere, along with movie theaters and nightclubs, at 8 p.m. on Monday. Was it irresponsible to still be going? Many would make that argument, but the floor at the Chelsea-Flatiron location of…