New York Responds: A Timeline of Year One
Introduction
March 12, 2021, New York City - On December 31, 2019, Chinese health officials announced that they were treating two dozen patients for an as-yet unnamed respiratory disease. Five months later, on May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer pinned down George Floyd, kneeling on his neck for eight minutes, forty-six seconds and ultimately killing him. Mr. Floyd’s death was the latest in a series of police and vigilante-inflicted violence against Black people in the United States.
The aftereffects of these two events—a few months and thousands of miles apart—swept the globe, transforming the socio-cultural and economic landscapes of cities big and small. How did these twin crises—the first medical and fast-moving, and the second racial and longstanding—intersect in New York City? How did the city’s residents and institutions respond, and were they always in accord with each other?
This timeline, originally created for the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition New York Responds: The First Six Months, seeks to answer these questions. It has been expanded to cover the period through March 1, 2021, the one-year anniversary of the first diagnosed COVID-19 case in New York City. The timeline features a selection of key events culled from multiple sources, and is periodically illustrated by footage from artist and photojournalist Ian Reid. The events are organized under two main rubrics: COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter (BLM). A third category—Context—refers to events or circumstances that provide contextual information around COVID-19 or BLM, but that cannot be fully claimed as a standalone datapoint by either category. Explore the timeline by playing the “Video Overview” below or by scrolling and clicking through the months underneath—or on individual dots or themes—to learn more.
Video Overview
Timeline
December 2019
Major themes in this month:
January 2020
Major themes in this month:
January Events
1/8
COVID-19
Chinese researchers identify the virus; at this stage there is no evidence that humans can easily transmit this disease
Source: [1]
1/20
COVID-19
First confirmed cases reported outside mainland China - in Japan, South Korea, and Thailand
Source: [1]
1/23
COVID-19
China cuts off Wuhan to contain the virus
Source: [1]
1/29
COVID-19
New Yorker Dr. Fauci is appointed to US Coronavirus Task Force
Source: [1]
1/30
COVID-19
WHO declares international public health emergency
Source: [1]
February 2020
Major themes in this month:
March 2020
Major themes in this month:
March Events
3/1
3/2
3/3
3/5
COVID-19
NYS cases double overnight from 11 to 22
Source: [1]
3/6
COVID-19
NYS cases double again
Source: [1]
3/11
COVID-19
NYC urges healthy New Yorkers to carry on as usual
Source: [1]
3/13
3/14
COVID-19
NYS announces its first two COVID-19 deaths
Source: [1]
3/15
3/16
3/18
COVID-19
NYS mandates 50% reduction in non-essential workforce presence
Source: [1]
3/19
3/20
3/23
3/24
3/25
COVID-19
NYS orders nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients
Source: [1]
3/26
3/27
3/30
April 2020
Major themes in this month:
April Events
4/1
COVID-19
Controversial charity Samaritan's Purse opens field hospital in Central Park
Source: [1]
4/2
4/5
4/7
Context
(Video) Long lines outside a Costco
4/8
Context
(Video) Passover in Brooklyn
4/15
COVID-19
US reports its highest COVID-19 deaths per day; this record will break in December
Source: [1]
4/17
Context
(Video) Burials in Hart Island
COVID-19
US reports its highest seven-day average of deaths; this record will break in December
Source: [1]
4/21
Context
(Video) Empty AirTrain waiting area, JFK Airport
4/28
Context
(Video) Grand Central Station during rush hour
May 2020
Major themes in this month:
May Events
5/3
Black Lives Matter
Nina Pop, a Black transgender woman, is killed in Missouri
Source: [1]
5/15
5/17
COVID-19
Japan and Germany enter recessions
Source: [1]
5/24
Context
(Video) A socially-distanced Eid al-Fitr in NYC
5/25
5/26
5/27
5/28
5/29
Black Lives Matter
(Video) Police and protestors clash at Barclays Center
5/30
Black Lives Matter
Reverend Al Sharpton and Gwen Carr - Eric Garner's mother - participate in Staten Island vigil for George Floyd
Source: [1]
5/31
Black Lives Matter
Large protests occur around NYC
Source: [1]
June 2020
Major themes in this month:
June Events
6/1
6/2
Black Lives Matter
NYC extends city-wide curfew
Source: [1]
6/4
6/5
Black Lives Matter
Buffalo police officers suspended for injuring 75-yr-old man
Source: [1]
6/6
Black Lives Matter
(Video) Silent protest outside a Trump hotel in NYC
6/9
Black Lives Matter
George Floyd's funeral is held in Houston
Source: [1]
6/19
Black Lives Matter
NYC declares Juneteenth a holiday
Source: [1]
6/20
COVID-19
Southern US sees sharp increase in cases
Source: [1]
6/23
6/28
Black Lives Matter
(Video) Black Lives Matter protest, Manhattan Municipal Building
Black Lives Matter
(Video) NYPD officers attack Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality
Context
(Video) Fireworks in the city
July 2020
Major themes in this month:
July Events
7/6
7/7
7/11
COVID-19
President Trump publicly wears a mask for the first time
Source: [1]
7/13
COVID-19
Over 5 million Americans have lost health insurance by this point
Source: [1]
7/14
7/16
COVID-19
US cases surpass 3.5 million; more than 137,000 dead
Source: [1]
7/22
Black Lives Matter
(Video) NYPD raids Occupy City Hall
August 2020
Major themes in this month:
August Events
8/5
COVID-19
Johnson & Johnson announces agreement with US for 100 million doses of vaccine
Source: [1]
8/7
COVID-19
NYS says public schools can reopen in the Fall
Source: [1]
8/9
Context
(Video) A pro-police "Back the Blue" rally in Marine Park
8/11
COVID-19
Global cases exceed 20 million; 735,000 dead
Source: [1]
8/12
COVID-19
Pfizer publishes initial clinical trial data for a vaccine
Source: [1]
8/25
8/26
8/30
COVID-19
Global cases reach 25 million and 850,000 are dead; for comparison, on August 11 the number of casualties was 750,000
Source: [1]
September 2020
Major themes in this month:
September Events
9/15
Black Lives Matter
Louisville settles wrongful-death lawsuit with Breonna Taylor's family; settlement includes police reform package
Source: [1]
9/17
COVID-19
NYC delays school reopenings again
Source: [1]
9/23
9/28
9/29
COVID-19
NYC public schools reopen for elementary students
Source: [1]
October 2020
Major themes in this month:
October Events
10/2
COVID-19
President Trump is diagnosed with COVID-19
Source: [1]
10/26
10/27
Black Lives Matter
Rickia Young, driving with her son and nephew, is attacked by two dozen police officers in Philadelphia; her son is taken is out of his car seat and her nephew is also attacked
Source: [1]
Context
NYC begins early voting in US presidential elections - enabled by election reform law passed in 2019 and spurred by social-distancing concerns
Source: [1]
November 2020
Major themes in this month:
November Events
11/3
Context
US Election Day - highest voter turnout in the US since 1900, partially achieved through early voting and increase in mail-in ballot requests during the pandemic
Source: [1]
11/7
Context
Democratic candidate Joseph Biden Jr. wins the 2020 Presidential election
Source: [1]
11/11
11/19
COVID-19
NYC public schools transition to remote learning again
Source: [1]
December 2020
Major themes in this month:
December Events
12/9
COVID-19
Number of daily deaths reported in US surpasses 3,000
Source: [1]
12/11
12/13
COVID-19
NYS receives its first shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Source: [1]
12/14
12/15
COVID-19
NYC officially begins vaccinating frontline healthcare workers
Source: [1]
12/18
12/20
COVID-19
Congress agrees on stimulus package, including one-time $600 check for eligible adults
Source: [1]
12/21
COVID-19
NYS implements plan to administer shots to nursing-home residents
Source: [1]
12/29
COVID-19
Colorado reports first case from UK variant
Source: [1]
12/31
COVID-19
NYC commits to administering 1 million doses by January 31
Source: [1]
January 2021
Major themes in this month:
January Events
1/5
Black Lives Matter
FBI office in Virginia warns of upcoming extremist activity in DC, including danger to BLM and Antifa movements, but no formal bulletin is issued
Source: [1]
1/6
1/7
COVID-19
US reports more than 4000 deaths in a single day
Source: [1]
1/8
1/12
1/13
Context
US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Trump for the second time
Source: [1]
1/14
COVID-19
NYC has received nearly 800,000 doses so far, but less than half have been distributed
Source: [1]
1/15
COVID-19
New cases in NYC reach all-time daily high of 19,000
Source: [1]
1/20
Context
Biden is sworn in as President; Kamala Harris becomes first Black, Indian-American, and female Vice President
Source: [1]
1/26
COVID-19
US reaches 425,000 deaths
Source: [1]
1/27
1/28
1/29
Black Lives Matter
NYC Council announces plan to introduce bill "reduc[ing] NYPD's footprint in the city" and increasing its accountability
Source: [1]
COVID-19
Average no. of new cases in US 40% lower than three weeks ago
Source: [1]
COVID-19
CDC mandates masks for travelers, conveyance operators, and at transportation hubs
Source: [1]
February 2021
Major themes in this month:
February Events
2/1
Black Lives Matter
Stacey Abrams is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize; other notable nominees include the Black Lives Matter movement
Source: [1]
2/2
COVID-19
NYC expands Phase 1B to make vaccine available to Taxi and Limousine Commission drivers and restaurant workers
Source: [1]
2/9
2/10
2/12
COVID-19
NYC resumes indoor dining
Source: [1]
2/13
Context
Former President Trump is acquitted in impeachment case; Senate falls 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority required to proceed
Source: [1]
2/15
COVID-19
NYS re-allocates leftover vaccines from hospital workers to people with co-morbidities
Source: [1]
COVID-19
Tri-state area detects first case of South-African variant in Connecticut
Source: [1]
COVID-19
Winter storm disrupts vaccine distribution across US
Source: [1]
COVID-19
COVID-19
Governor Cuomo admits to his lack of transparency in reporting nursing home deaths
Source: [1]
COVID-19
UK meets target of offering first vaccine dose to 15 million citizens, while the US struggles with its vaccine rollout
Source: [1]
2/16
COVID-19
Four Asian-American women are attacked in separate incidents on the same day in NYC
Source: [1]
COVID-19
COVID-19
Seven-day average in the US dips below 90,000 a day for the first time since November
Source: [1]
Black Lives Matter
NYC Mayor says he will not support City Council's effort to remove police commissioner's final authority over disciplinary matters
Source: [1]
Black Lives Matter
Judge dismisses all charges against the accused woman in the "birdwatching incident" after the latter completed a "restorative justice resolution"
Source: [1]
2/18
2/21
COVID-19
South-African variant found in NYS
Source: [1]
2/22
2/23
2/24
COVID-19
California deaths surpass 50,000, the most of any US state
Source: [1]
2/25
2/26
COVID-19
NBA player Jeremy Lin says he was called "coronavirus" on court - the latest in a disturbing and increasing trend of racism towards AAPI communities
Source: [1]