Reading science fiction like it matters since 1989.
New York City ... the splendor, picturesqueness, and oceanic amplitude and rush of these great cities ... costly and lofty new buildings ... the tumultuous streets, Broadway, the heavy, low, musical roar, hardly ever intermitted, even at night ... the assemblages of the citizens in their groups, conversations, trades, evening amusements ... these, I say, and the like of these, completely satisfy my senses of power, fulness, motion.
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
Introduction
In a previous paper, I outlined the events that have led to the current pandemic (Grech “Pandemics”). This essay briefly describes the propensity of science fiction authors to unleash disasters on New York City and then goes on to outline events currently unfolding in the United States in relation to COVID-19, with particular emphasis on New York City.