Look, I’m a diehard New Yorker. I don’t drive. I love pierogies and bagels. I can walk for hours on end. Yet, lately I’ve been holding onto my pepper spray a little tighter and have been glad to wear a mask.

Let’s start with the latter. New York summers are hot and humid. My hair fights with me everyday. It’s like a teenager that pouts and screams and does what it wants. No amount of big sexy hairspray helps. Anyway, I digress slightly. It’s hot. There’s piles of garbage everywhere. It smells. The masks help a little.

Then we have the other problem. I walk everywhere. These days, I find myself bobbing and weaving through the hordes of angry homeless people. There has been a marked increase in the number of mentally ill, in dire need of help, walking the streets and trains. As a psychologist, I sympathize and want to help. As a woman walking alone at 8am to work, I worry.

We need more resources on the streets. We need more hospital space for those in need. Yet another reason to do all we can to stop this covid-19 pandemic in its tracks. We have so many competing needs.

I for one am willing to be part of the solution. Let’s start with the garbage lining the streets. And, maybe we should have cooling stations. My hair would appreciate it.