In Central Park, people ate ice creams, picnicked, played, exercised, put on shorts, and often wore warm smiles. Carriages lined up for tourists to go sightseeing. Park visitors could hear the chirp of birds and see squirrels seeking food. The grass was growing and  changing the color of the ground from yellow and brown to faint green.

Carriages of Central Park  line up at the entrance of Central Park on W 59th Street, waiting for tourists. Photo by Chuyan Jiang, March 9, 2021

Children play at Heckscher Playground, Central Park. March 9, 2021, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

Children swing at Heckscher Playground, Central Park. March 9, 2021, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

People picnic near Heckscher Playground in Central Park. March 9, 2021, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

People walk and bike in at Central Park. March 9, 2021, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A cyclist wears shorts in Central Park. March 9, 2021, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A squirrel nibbles a nut in Central Park. March 9, 2021. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

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Observing the park from ground level can be interesting, but more so from a higher perspective as can be seen here from these photographs made from NYU’s Kimmel Center Center for University Life. This project sees the park and the life there from unique perspectives. For example, when I noticed an artist, or security team, or pianist in the view above, I would go down to photograph them from below or it could happen in the reverse way. From the eighth and tenth floor, viewers can also see the Empire State Building from afar. Another landmark of the city and once the world’s tallest building for nearly four decades, the tower displays some of its 16 million plus colors for important occasions, holidays, and organizations. 

A Black Trans Lives Matter memorial takes place at Washington Square Park on the evening of Nov 20, 2020, shot from Kimmel Center. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A Black Trans Lives Matter memorial takes place at Washington Square Park from the ground-level perspective, Nov 20, 2020, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A Black Trans Lives Matter memorial takes place at Washington Square Park from the ground-level perspective, Nov 20, 2020, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A group of pigeons at Washington Square Park from the Kimmel Center perspective, Nov 25, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A group of pigeons at Washington Square Park from the ground level perspective, Nov 25, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A group of pigeons at Washington Square Park from the ground level perspective, Nov 25, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

Artist and NYC park enforcement officers at Washington Square Park captured from the view of Kimmel Center, Nov 25, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

Park enforcement officers at NYC patrol at Washington Square Park as seen on the ground, Nov 25, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

Johnnie Grinder sells artwork at Washington Square Park as seen on the ground, Nov 25, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A person plays the piano in the park from the Kimmel Center perspective. On the piano it says “this machine kills fascists”. Dec 3, 2020, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A person plays the piano in the park from the ground level perspective. On the piano it says “this machine kills fascists”. Dec 3, 2020, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

A person plays the piano in the park from the ground level perspective. On the piano it says “this machine kills fascists”. Dec 3, 2020, Photo by Chuyan Jiang

Washington Square Arch around sunset on a misty day from Kimmel Center, Nov 30, 2020. Photo by Chuyan Jiang

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 “We have a number of authors this year like Alexis Wright from Australia who have not been able to come in-person in the past and are participating this year,” Liz Koch, the co-producer of the festival said. “I think that’s of course good for them and for the audience.”

But the virtual format also discourages some people who don’t like online events. Mark Wunderlich is a poet and writer who attended the previous years’ festivals. He  had a table about the writing program he directed, but will pass this year.

“I was not interested in attending a virtual event,” Wunderlich said. “I don’t really enjoy readings presented by video, and since there is no real opportunity to mingle or see friends, I will skip it this year.”

For organizers, the online format also created extra challenges.

“We are excited at how it’s coming together, but we have 100 programs taking place in one week,” Koch said. “So it’s a lot of technology and a lot of making sure that everybody shows up on the screen when they are supposed to.”

Laura Doland, a member of the Brooklyn Book Festival Literary Council and Nonfiction Programming Committee, said that the festival, now in its 15th year, drew about 40,000 attendees each year with 300 authors performing on 14 stages. It was both indoors and outdoors around Brooklyn Borough Hall.  

Participants can register for the events online, and once the events go live, participants can access the recording for free at any time until the end of 2020. For a complete list of this year’s events, click here, the festival will run until October 5. 

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Studying remotely from Beijing was the best option for Weichen Du, academically problematic as it could be. The Australian border restriction did not allow Weichen to travel to the country, and Weichen could not find a job due to the pandemic.  Travel possibilities were also limited.

Weichen Du was attends a Zoom tutorial held by the University of Melbourne from his home in Beijing, China. Photo by Xinhui Ying

“I think the quality of teaching, and also the class, has significantly dropped down,” Du, a first-year master’s student in Marketing Communications at the University of Melbourne said.  “It is harder to understand what the professor wants on each assignment.”

At the same time, Weichen felt depressed and isolated from the rest of the class. He believed that everyone in his program felt the same way. The physical distance made him feel less close to professors and discouraged him from reaching out.

 “I tried everything to keep me busy… but my mental health still got worse because of the social distancing,” Weichen said. “I realized that interaction between people was so important for our being.You need to interact with people to keep everything moving.”

Siyi Xie, a sophomore studying Business Administration and Management at the University of Toronto, decided to do the entire academic year remotely from Vancouver. She revealed that the online learning experience was very inconvenient because of the time difference and the fact that students were not used to the instruction mode. However, she believed it would be better over time.

“My biggest fear is about how they would deliver the exams, ” Xie said. “Because people who do courses online have the opportunity to cheat. Therefore, the test they give these people will be harder than those who do the in-person exams. I am afraid of being graded unfairly because I don’t cheat although I take classes online.”

Siyi Xie takes handwriting notes at home in Vancouver, Canada for a University of Toronto course. Photo by Siyi Xie

Xie was also concerned about the safety of living on campus, and that was one of the major reasons she decided not to return to class in-person.

“Just live in close proximity to other people who you don’t know and cannot trust fully, I feel that’s a bit dangerous,” she said.

In terms of social life outside of academics, COVID-19 has made it harder for Xie to hang out with people. Most restaurants in Vancouver were closed for dine-in options. When she interacted with people online, she had to wait for responses.  Also, the tone and meaning behind the words were a bit hazier, as she could not hear or see her friends.

“If it’s just a normal school year, it will be so easy to go to class in person and actually make a few friends,” Siyi said. “So you can swap notes maybe and become study buddies. But right now, because of COVID-19 and because of online delivery, it’s hard to actually just text someone and become close with them.”

Tiankuo Jiang is a freshman in a middle school in Nanjing, China. He started his first day of class on Sept.1.

“I think except the dining, all things are just normal,” Jiang said.  “We just can’t eat together. Every student has one corner of the table, and then you put a cross-shaped plastic between students to make them separate.”

The teachers did not tell students to wear masks, but most students did. In addition, students were not required to keep a 2-meter distance.  But Jiang does not feel stressed about contracting the virus.

“I think it’s just okay, because we had very great protection before and now we don’t have many cases,” Jiang said.

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