Methodology and Background
The day I began moving in, I ran into Leeat and Uwvie as I was bringing boxes to the front step. Uwvie descended first, stroller in tow, and introduced himself. Socially, I felt awkward. Coming off of a year of isolation brought about by my inability to traverse Scranton without a driver’s license, it felt a little like the first day of kindergarten; you want to say “hi,” but you’re not really confident you know how to. Leeat followed him out soon after, Oliver bundled in her arms. I asked her how old he was; she told me two weeks. Naturally, I said something stupid, something like, “wow, so the baby’s fresh.”
We shared a laugh, then they went about their day. As I walked up the stairs, I thought about how I sometimes say whatever comes to mind without negotiating how others might perceive it. After a year of talking to myself while my partner was at work, I once again had to learn how to talk to others. As the weeks went by, I met my other neighbors, all but Jo, who I would meet in February. In the closing days of summer, we would convene outside where I sat on the steps waiting for an UberEATS delivery order worth taking. Some conversations were short, interrupted by an actually decent opportunity, while others went long enough for me to turn off the app, too engaged to leave for a $2 base pay AND tip to bring someone their Starbucks.
I’ve come to realize that this project began on August 1st, 2021, when I told Leeat that her baby was fresh. Every conversation that has transpired within the building and just outside of it since then, with everyone who lives here, has inspired it.
The goal of this project has been to view New Yorkers’ experiences during the pandemic on a micro-level, using the apartment building, the only place the people who lived in it were really able to be outside of work, as a vessel. I have found that spatial proximity does not necessarily result in similar experience. While there are universal social elements inherent in the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found each of these stories to be unique. In a city of eight million people, the differences found in these six indicate that within these five boroughs, an ocean of narrative waits to be heard.
On a personal level, I have found that cultivating community with the other dwellers of your building can play a part in individual understandings of the pandemic, and its impact on us, if we venture to ask each other these questions. The project can be re-practiced by anybody, New Yorker or not, who possesses such a living situation; no profiles or audio clips necessary. Just go, introduce yourself to your neighbors. If you say something weird, they may say something weird back. You might find kindred spirits. I did.
Across the hall, Jo left New York for Austin to be with her boyfriend, and I moved back to Scranton to meet my girlfriend, and somehow, we’ve found ourselves, once again, living alone in New York. Conversations, such as the ones that we have shared with you, can represent bridges being built in an effort to understand your place within the pandemic; I invite you to begin building.
An important note: the table we all sat at was Paul and Sonia’s, who offered it to me after finding out I didn’t have one anymore. The generosity I have been shown in this building is something I will not soon forget. Thank you to my narrators for everything they’ve done to help me in not only constructing this project, but also for the many other ways they have since I moved in.
Methodology
I invited each of my neighbors into my apartment, having prepared a list of questions based on the information that I acquired by simply speaking with them. I took into account the fact that George’s sister, Mary, had died in her home early on in the pandemic, that Leeat had given birth during it, and that Jo, like me, had left New York amidst concerns about the social impact that the pandemic would have on the city. Otherwise, my questions were centered around things such as work, their experience in the city both before and during the pandemic, what they did to get through it, and their outlooks on the future. Each interview lasted between one and two hours, and took place in my living room. I don’t think I will ever have a group of narrators who will have to travel so little to get to the interview.
After this, I asked them to interview me for 15-20 minutes each, so that my final minute count would be within their range. I was interested to see what their questions would be, thought about how what I had previously told them about myself would impact their questioning, and simply what questions they would develop on their own. Some came prepared, Leeat with a notebook and pen, while most riffed questions off the cuff.
I first created indexes of each interview, then constructed the audio clips, and finished by writing the profiles. Negotiating what I wrote for myself was tricky. I didn’t allow myself to deviate much from the audio clips when it came to writing my profile, filling in certain details that I felt necessary, while leaving out aspects that I found personally important, but completely missing from the index.
I constructed all of the audio clips using Hindenburg, and recorded our interviews using shotgun mics and a Zoom F6 recorder.