Today, I am thankful for an island that epitomizes our hardiness and perseverance.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has devastated our world to an extent beyond which this generation has seen. Millions of adults have fallen ill as a result of this microscopic RNA virus, and thousands have succumbed to the infection. Countries such as India, Brazil, Italy, and the United States have particularly been hit hard, with ‘hot spots’ of infection taking hold in certain key cities. Nowhere has the impact and devastation been so intense as in the city of New York. The tight confines, widespread use of public transportation, and sheer magnitude of the New York populace allowed for the virus to spread rather uncontrollably in the early portion of the pandemic, at a time when social distancing and other preventative measures were not yet the norm.
Nevertheless, the city of New York persisted. Does this come as any surprise?
New York, and the island of Manhattan in particular, has demonstrated its tenacity and perseverance for nearly four centuries. In 1626, the Dutch governor, Peter Minuit, purchased the island of ‘Mannahatta’ from the Canarsie Indians in exchange for some farming implements, cloth, and wampum. The total cost for the ‘Island of Many Hills’ was 60 guilders, which at the time equated to $23.70. The Dutch occupied the island’s southern tip in a settlement called ‘New Amsterdam’. Several decades later, the British would seize control of this sparsely settled colony of Dutch, French, and German colonists, renaming the city after the Northeastern town of York in Britain. In short order, the island’s name would be anglicized as ‘Manhattan.’ Yet, over the course of the next nearly 400 years, this small island would face its share of adversity and affliction, on at least 4 different occasions.
In August 1776, the city became the first major battleground of the Revolutionary War, when 24,000 Redcoats under the leadership of British General Howe surrounded the island. Fortunately, George Washington’s colonial army survived an initial attack in Brooklyn, and a second in Harlem Heights, before escaping to the north of town. Eventually, the British would evacuate the city in 1783, and, less than 4 decades later, this relatively small town would become the most populated city in the United States.
All was well until December 1835, when a massive conflagration would blaze uncontrollably over 20 square blocks of Lower Manhattan city between Wall and Broad Streets, all the way to the East River. The Great Fire of New York burned for the next three days, laying destruction to a large portion of the southern tip of the island. Yet, the city’s inhabitants rebuilt the city, stronger and bolder than ever, even as immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and other European countries flocked to the city to work in its factories and mills during the Industrial Revolution.
All continued well for nearly a century until September 1929, when a collapse of a different variety would befall Wall Street and other portions of New York City. The stock market crash would sink the city into poverty and despair. Even as long lines of impoverished souls in search of soup and unemployment benefits abruptly replaced the lavish parties of the ‘Roaring Twenties’, the city held strong. The governor from New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), would help lift the city, and the entire nation, from its depression. The city’s tenacious, can-do attitude and steadfast optimism inspired a recovering nation to believe that anything was possible with a bullish recipe of foresight, diligence, and stamina.
And, of course, I would be remiss not to mention the tragedies of September 2001. On September 11 that year, a terrorist attack on the ‘Twin Towers’ of the World Trade Center (WTC) would topple these massive 110-storied structures. Yet, as the toppled steel was removed at the cost of nearly 3,000 loved ones, New Yorkers kept their resolve and determination. In short order, the WTC neighborhood was rebuilt and, before long, the streets were once again filled with hoards of people busily on their way.
So, too, the ‘melting pot’ that typifies New York will respond to the current pandemic. Soon enough, the city that brought us Broadway musicals, Harlem jazz clubs, and all-night dining will once again be humming with humanity. In the midst of turmoil and conflict, this city of more than 8 million (of which nearly a third were born outside of the United States) has always been there to see us through.
How can I be so sure?
Well, history has proven it to me over and over again. If I just think about this singe day in history (Oct 9), I can appreciate how Manhattan is the birthplace of our resiliency. On this day in 1765, colonists gathered in Federal Hall to express our ‘rights and grievances’ against King George III’s issuance of the Stamp Act. Similarly, on this day in 1941, New York’s own FDR would secretly order the Army Corps of Engineers to stockpile uranium from the Belgian Congo in the warehouse docks in the city, under the codename ‘Manhattan Project,’ in an effort to end the war.
Indeed, New York has seen more than its share of hardships. Yet, time and time again, New Yorkers have confirmed their hardiness. How fitting it is that 42 years ago this week Frank Sinatra sang ‘New York, New York’ in public for the first time. Rest assured, Frank, that the ‘City that Never Sleeps’ will once again be the ‘king of the hill’ and ‘top of the heap’. You might as well ‘start spreading the news’ of its eventual return to prominence. It’s really hard to take a bite out of this Big Apple.
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