Antsy children, frazzled mothers, seniors strolling on paved paths and young families with newfound free time all shared the familiar green spaces of New York this week as the city shut down around them as a result of the coronavirus spread. Being in a park felt both liberating and subversive, and a public statement of sorts — one made at least six feet away from stranger and friend alike.

In Central Park, a global model of urban open space, an elderly couple walked beneath the trees. “We took it for granted,” said Paul Wassarman, who turns 80 next week. “We don’t take it for granted anymore.”

His wife, Eveline, stood a few feet away. “There is nowhere else to go now but outside — the movies are closed, everything is closed,” she said. “And it is beautiful. And you don’t have to worry.”

And yet, there was plenty of worry. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio called for city leaders to determine whether to order people to shelter at home. He added that the order in place in San Francisco, where going outside for a walk is still permitted and parks remain open, would be “the right guidance.”