The view from the Brooklyn Bridge is as dazzling as ever.

Everything is bathed in early morning sunlight. Everything looks as it should.

I am nearly alone on the bridge when I see Mohammed, a police officer I know from City Hall. His is the first face I’ve seen today, and we smile. “How are you doing?” he asks. “How is your family?”

When you live in New York City, you have 8.5 million neighbors. We are trying to stay inside our small apartments right now to save their lives, and the lives of those we love.

What is it like here in New York, now home to more than 7 percent of the world’s coronavirus cases?

Eerie. Anxious. The schools are closed. So are most stores. Subway ridership is down nearly 90 percent. Doctors warn that our hospitals are running out of ventilators and medical supplies and are on the brink of disaster.