Wednesday marks 2 years since NYC shut down bars, restaurants and other businesses
NEW YORK -- Two years ago, the coronavirus pandemic upended our lives.
On March 16, 2020, New York City bars and restaurants served their last in-person meals before being shut down.
They could only offer take-out or deliver, and liquor laws were changed to allow for delivery of alcohol.
Movie theaters and gyms also closed, and city schools shut down this same week.
The MTA also gave a heartfelt thank you to its workers Wednesday.
From Grand Central Terminal, MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber recognized the frontline heroes who kept our city moving during its darkest times and honored the 160 workers who died from COVID.
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CBS2's Steve Overmyer spent a day talking with New Yorkers about their reflections.
Everyone has a story of their realization that the coronavirus was going to change everyday life.
"I remember at the beginning there was no end or light at the end of the tunnel, so it was very scary," one person said.
"Anxiousy, panicky, not knowing what was going on," another person said.
"I remember hearing one of the medical people on a podcast say this thing could go a year or two years and I just thought 'no way, no way, no,'" another person said.
What was to come was impossible to imagine -- the death toll, the loss of jobs, the isolation.
"We really lost a lot of that human connection," one man said.
So the city that never sleeps finally did.
"It was like a ghost town, man," one person said.
"You could walk down Fifth Avenue, there would be no one there. You could walk down Broadway, there would be no one there," another person said. "People would kind of shy away from you."
"It was really kind of stunning how quickly it overran New York," another person said.
"It had kind of a post-apocalyptic feel to it," another person said.
Life as we knew it halted. Many of us have suffered immeasurable losses.
"You know what really hit home was walking past the hospital and seeing the refrigerator trucks out there like the morgues. I think that was like the real, you know, punch in the face," one person said.
But even in the darkest of spring, New York's response was a ray of light.
"The pandemic really gave you a chance to stop and reflect on life and see how it can change so fast," one person said.
"I think it made me realize who my true group of friends are," another person said.
"We made it. We're New Yorkers," another person said.
"I think it's changed people, but New York has always been strong. So I don't think we needed a refresher on that," another person said.
We are adaptable. When circumstances change, so do we. We're finally allowing ourselves to smile, to dance and to never forget our collective strength.