Summary(2:30) City quiet -- (4:30) Daughter is high school senior -- (8:17) Will attend online college in fall -- (11:10) Special officer for NYC Human Resources -- (11:50) Commuting, conditions in subway -- (13:40) Most people wearing masks -- (15:20) Security officer in public assistance/welfare building, fear of violence, maintaining order -- (19:10) Less crowded in office during pandemic. Maintaining distance with clients on site -- (22:20) Essential worker -- (23:00) Fear of virus -- (24:30) Importance of routine -- (27:40) Raised in Crown Heights -- (28:30) Married US marine, lived in California during Persian Gulf War, Los Angeles riots -- (30:30) NY neighborhood construction stopped, small businesses closed on Flatbush Avenue -- (34:30) Hopes houses of worship reopen -- (35:50) Looking forward to reopening of salons, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Broadway -- (39:00) Five or six caseworkers/coworkers died from Covid-19 -- (41:40) Personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning procedures at work -- (44:10) Mental health effects of pandemic.
NoteAudio interview conducted on May 16, 2020, by Virginia Marshall. Collected for the Covid-19 Oral History Project through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
SubjectQuarantine ; COVID-19 (Disease) ; Epidemics; Coronaviruses ; Public welfare -- New York (State) -- New York ; New York (N.Y.). Human Resources Administration
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TitleOral history interview with Karen Marshall on May 16, 2020.