Today, Easter Sunday, I made my first excursion into Manhattan in more than a month. After collecting a few needed items (the mail, some clothes, etc.) we turned around and left almost as soon as we had arrived. But I took the occasion to take a few pictures to record the strange situation for posterity.

You may think of Manhattan as the site of nothing but sterile concrete canyons; and there are some of those. But in the residential districts like Greenwich Village, there are also plenty of trees and beautiful gardens. At this time of year the gardens are just coming into full flower, but right now there are few people around to enjoy them.

Here’s Bleecker Street around 1 PM, with beautiful tree gardens but almost no pedestrians nor automobile traffic:

Almost all of the stores are closed. Around the corner on Perry Street, the big trees are starting to get their leaves, but it’s just as eerily quiet:

Here are some beautiful gardens on Perry Street:

A balcony filled with spring flowers:

The neighborhood cherry tree has exploded in bloom:

I’m just glad that I got the chance to enjoy it, however briefly.