The streets  did slowly came back to life, but the city still lacks the energy that it’s famous for. 

Each photo represents a month of the pandemic, which so far has infected over 780,000  New Yorkers and killed 48,537.

APRIL, 2020

Time Square, New York is at a stand still with no tourists flooding the streets. April 7, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

MAY 2020

Washington Square Park, New York pre-Covid is always filled with skaters and people eating outside. But not on May 13, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

JUNE 2020

As the warm weather starts to take over New York, a woman cutting up mangos sell fruit up by the subway entrance. Brooklyn, New York. June 18, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

JULY 2020

An empty subway car heading to Coney Island, New York. July 20, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

SEPTEMBER 2020

People eat outside at That Diner in an outdoor setup that mimics indoor dining. Bowery, New York. September 9, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

OCTOBER 2020

Path riders on route to the World Trade Center in New York. October 18, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

NOVEMBER 2020

A sea of people crowd around Columbus Circle celebrating Joe Biden winning the 2020 Presidential Election. November 7, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

DECEMBER 2020

People sit, socially distanced, to watch a video playing on a screen at the MOMA Museum. December 5, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

JANUARY 2021

Broadway theaters remain shut down. Shubert Theatre, New York. January 18, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

FEBUARY 2021

People wait on line to get vaccinated at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. February 17, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

MARCH 2021

During an in-person NYU journalism graduate class, Digital Newsroom, students wear masks and maintain 6ft apart rules. March 11, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

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 As the heat was having its moment at the shore, strangers conversed while laying down  on the sand and others converted WFH (working from home) to WFB (working from the boardwalk). 

People tanning on the rocks by the ocean in Long Branch, New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A woman sits on a bench while looking at her phone at the Asbury Park boardwalk in New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A couple brought their beach chairs onto the boardwalk to catch some rays in Long Branch, New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A man rides his bike, while a woman walks her dog on the boardwalk at Asbury Park, New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

Two women take a selfie while relaxing in their beach chairs at Long Branch, New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A woman changes up working from home to working from the boardwalk on this warm spring day at Long Branch, New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A family plays on the sand in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. March 9, 2021. Photo by Michelle Diaz

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The train and Path cars are so overcrowded to the point that New Yorkers are opting for riding bikes to work.There is an eeriness that lingers through the NJ Transit, the Path stations, and the subways of New York. It’s like nothing any commuter has ever seen before in the over populated tri-state area. 

People who rely on public transportation for their daily commute are potentially exposing themselves everyday. After 4 p.m. during rush hour, social distancing doesn’t exist. Certain subway and Path lines still get stuffed like sardine cans. Everyone is obligated to wear a mask while taking public transportation. The MTA issues $50 fines to anyone not wearing masks, yet there are people who still refuse to follow the covid safety guidelines. Coronavirus cases are increasing each day in New Jersey and New York and many commuters are in constant worry of their safety.

Between the months of October and November, I rode NJ Transit from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to the Q subway line that takes you to Coney Island, and everything in-between to photograph what the new version of commuting looks like. Here is what I encountered above and underground. 

A person sits looking at their phone while riding the NJ Transit towards Newark Penn Station. October 26, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person reading on the Path from New Jersey to New York. November 9, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person carries flowers off the Path at Newark Penn Station in New Jersey. October 27, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person sleeps on the subway in Manhattan, New York. November 17, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

People on the subway in Manhattan, New York. November 14, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

People on the D subway line heading to Coney Island, New York. November 17, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

People coming and going from the Path at the World Trade Center Station. November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person sleeping listening to their earphones on the L train in Brooklyn, New York. November 20, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A family on the Q subway line going to Coney Island, New York. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

The subway doors close as a person looks into the subway car. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person taking the Q subway line to Coney Island, New York. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

The view of Luna Park at Coney Island, New York though the Q subway line. November 25, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

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As election day was coming to an end and the polls were closing, businesses were busy boarding up their stores as if a war was on the horizon. Kristin McGowan, a former Hillary Clinton volunteer, was posted up at Washington Square Park selling “Buttons for the Resistance” for $1 each. People were buying Biden/Harris and “Go Fact Yourself” buttons in the hopes of President Trump being elected out of office. 

Around 8:30 p.m. Republicans met uptown at the Metropolitan Republican club for an election viewing party titled “Trump Victory Party”. While Trump supporters gathered around the screen in a celebratory mood, protesters hit the streets downtown marching holding signs saying, “Trump/Pence OUT NOW”.

This is how Election Day looked like in NYC.

A person takes a selfie on a selfie stick dressed head to toe in American flag print in Time Square on November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A Jewish Trump supporter attends the “Trump Victory Party” at the Metropolitan Republican Club. November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

Anti-Trump protestors gather around Union Square Park on November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

Bystanders in SoHo, NY stop to read the “Wall of Lies” created by The Washington Post. The mural features 20,000 of Trump’s lies all colored coded by a certain issue. November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A sign displayed outside of a business in SoHo, NY. November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

Two workers board up the doors and windows of a store in SoHo, NY. November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

Kristin McGowan, a former Hillary Clinton volunteer, sells “Buttons for the Resistance” in Washington Square Park on November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A couple sits outside of the New York Public Library on November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

A person dressed as President Donald J. Trump walks in front of Trump Tower giving a thumbs up to bystanders on November 3, 2020. Photo by Michelle Diaz

This is a project of  Lori Grinker’s graduate photojournalism class.

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But they butt heads on just about everything else. The parents are Republican and the daughter is liberal. The closer the election gets, the more the Tosato family is divided. 

“I wouldn’t go to an indoor rally personally,” Kathleen Tosato, a Republican voter said. “It’s foolish to go to one now, but I think what happened was we watched months of protesters, rioters, many of which didn’t have masks on. Trump supporters saw it as it being their first amendment right to attend his rally.”

Kathleen Tosato watches Fox News when she gets home from work in the evenings, but changes the channel when her daughter gets home to avoid conflict. 

“I don’t know what happened with my daughter, she wasn’t like this,” Tosato said referring to her daughter being liberal. “Social media has gotten to her.”

“It’s gotten to a lot of people,” George Tosato, Kathleen’s husband said.

“But she’s the one I care about though,” Kathleen retorted. 

Kathleen Tosato believes that for the first time in her life there’s a fighter on the Republican side. She said that no one fights harder than Trump does. 

“Trump is in his element at his rallies,” Kathleen Tosato said. “The people go crazy for him, they wait in line 24 or 48 hours to attend his events. In my 61 years I’ve never seen anything like this.”

George Tosato was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. Growing up, Tosato was a Democrat, but later became a Republican.

“A lot of people say they don’t like his style,” George Tosato said. “According to the media, it’s all about what Trump and his supporters do wrong. I wouldn’t go to an indoor rally, but I’m not going out of my way to talk badly about the people who did either, it’s their right.”

Hailey Tosato, Kathleen and George’s daughter, thinks Trump is playing with fire if he keeps hosting rallies indoors. Hailey and her parents don’t have open conversations about politics in the house because it usually results in arguments.

“We’re in a pandemic and it just isn’t right to be inside somewhere with so many people,” Hailey Tosato said. “Doesn’t matter what you’re doing, whether it’s election based or not.”

In June, Hailey Tosato  participated in a George Floyd protest in Newark, New Jersey. She said that almost every single person was wearing a mask and keeping as much distance as possible. She attended the protest despite her parents thoughts on it. 

“What’s interesting about the indoor Trump rallies was that people chose to go,” Kathleen Tosato said. “We live in a free country and you can do whatever you want.”

Trump’s first indoor rally in Tulsa was held three months after the coronavirus reached America and it completely backfired. It was poorly attended and there was a spike in coronavirus cases in those who went.

“Trump isn’t doing this for anything other than his personal publicity,” Hailey Tosato said. “As the leader of the free world he’s supposed to be looking out for people, but yet he’s endangering how many lives by hosting indoor rallies.”

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“When Trump was first elected I just thought to myself, damn, my whole family is about to be deported,” Angeles Cavallo of Teaneck, New Jersey said. “That has been a constant worry in my family for the last four years.”

Cavallo and her family emigrated to the United States from Argentina when she was 3.  Although her family has green cards, they still worry.

“My mom didn’t leave the house for months, like if it wasn’t for work she wouldn’t leave the house,” Cavallo said. “This was the time when people were being randomly pulled over by the police to check if they had papers or not. And if you didn’t have them you were done. She stayed in the house for a total of eight months.”

Cavallo’s roommates, Alina Tiburcio and Darlyn Rebolledo, are also worried about a possible Trump reelection.

Tiburcio grew up in a Dominican multigenerational household in New York surrounded by many other Domincan families. Rebolledo was raised in a Colombian household in New Jersey.

“The fear that immigrant families face comes from the lack of knowledge about U.S. laws,” Tiburcio said. “Even though my mom has her papers she is still scared of the cops because of the political climate we live in today.”

Even with the lack of popularity Trump has in the Latino community, there are still those who are supporting him. This past Monday in Phoenix, Arizona, hundreds of Latinos gathered indoors for Trump’s “Latinos for Trump” event. 

“I know minorities who have voted for Trump and say that they vote for him because he’s going to take away all these programs that abuse the government,” Rebolledo said.

“Which their own parents are on,” Tiburcio rebutted. 

According to  recent polls taken in Arizona, Biden leads with 62% of the Latino support compared to Trump who only has 29%. 

 “I am going to work like the devil to make sure I turn every Latino and Hispanic vote,” Joe Biden told the New York Times after a speech in Delaware on Monday.

Cavallo said she is feeling uneasy about the future if Trump is reelected.

“My whole life I’ve never felt uncomfortable living in America until President Trump came into office,” Cavallo said. 

Trump flags make Rebolledo feel uneasy. 

 “It’s an unwelcoming feeling I get every time I see that “Make America Great Again” flag hung at an establishment,” she said.

 Rebolledo has already started telling her nephews and nieces to comply with the police and they are only 12 and 14 years old. 

But Tiburcio hopes that if he is reelected a powerful voice will rise to combat his message.

“I hope it brings out the radicals, the Malcom Xs, the Martin Luther King Jr.s, the Maya Angelous,” Tiburcio said. “We haven’t had anyone like that in years and I think it’s time.”

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