New York Does Not Welcome You
The celebration of New York City’s long-awaited reopening has yet to reach its most hated airport. Were it not for the sunlight streaming through the sparkling floor-to-ceiling windows at LaGuardia Airport’s newest baggage claim on Tuesday morning, you would have sworn it was the middle of the night. Not one of the nine conveyor belts was delivering luggage, and not a single traveler was waiting to be reunited with their Samsonite.
It was 10:30 a.m. on the day after New York City had allowed offices to reopen and outdoor dining to resume—the second step in the city’s long, tentative journey back from the depths of coronavirus hell. I had gone to LaGuardia to see whether people were returning to the city now that it was reopening, and in particular from those places, such as Florida, where the coronavirus is resurgent.
“It’s kind of scary,” said Joe Depalo, a 70-year-old man who was waiting to pick up
