Back in Brooklyn

“Nothing is cooler and more attractive than a big comeback, and that'll be me.”

—Steven Adler

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

AFTER 11 months, I’m back in Brooklyn.

The last time I was in New York City's most populous borough, with an estimated 2,648,403 residents in 2020, was in March 2020 for a special assignment.

I was barred from entering the archetype apartment building, erected in the year when the 1936 Berlin Olympics was held, after authorities locked down the Empire Estate to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

I was in the entrance when greeted by a screaming advisory: “Effective March 22, 2020, all non-residents aren’t allowed inside this building due to COVID-19.”

The advisory came two days after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a PAUSE order that would go into effect on March 22 at eight o’clock in the evening with 5,683 confirmed cases in New York City alone on March 20, 2020.

Before the statewide stay-at-home order also known as the "New York State on PAUSE" executive order was put in place on March 14, all New York Public Library branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island were also temporarily closed. 

The Queens Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library were also closed even as Theaters, concert venues, and nightclubs in NYC have been shut down since March 17. 

I felt like I was walking in a town soon to be invaded by the zombies. People started to stay away from the streets. 

It’s good the subway train didn’t stop its operation.

 

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Restaurants were restricted to take-out and delivery only. 

Schools were closed until at least April 20. Gyms were closed as well.

I thought I would never see that fantastic building again which had  Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian designs similar to the ancient Roman buildings. 

From where I was standing, I recorded a video of myself retreating from the building as a way of “permanently” saying goodbye and adieu to my other livelihood. 

I thought of posting the video on social media for record purposes, but succeeding events overcame the planned melodrama. 

From Brooklyn, I went back to Queens and stayed in my apartment for three months for an extended lockdown as COVID-19 embarked on a murderous binge. 

And the rest was history as COVID-19 transformed into a pandemic and terrorized not only New York but also the world.

On January 12, a feeling of déjà vu engulfed my emotion as I entered the prized edifice again. I’m back in the harness finally.     

 

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VULGAR FAVORS. On my first day in Brooklyn, I found two interesting things: 1. A food pack containing cooked brown rice and two silver plastic sachets of pink salmon in water (no salt added) and 2. A brand-new hardbound book titled “Vulgar Favors” by Maureen Orth worth $24.95 on a sidewalk bench.

I secured the food pack for a lunch and briefly read the book, which was so astonishing as it revealed the explosive story of the late Filipino-American sensation Andrew Cunanan and his cross-country killing spree in its entirety.

According to Frank Bruni of the New York Times, 'Vulgar Favors'' is framed, somewhat disingenuously, as both a cautionary tale about unchecked materialism and hedonism and an expose of the seamiest underside of gay life, the possibly fatal bungling of law enforcement and the voracious appetites of scandal-chasing journalists.

“For all of Maureen Orth's febrile efforts to tattle and titillate, to delve deep into the mechanics of a national manhunt and even deeper into the psychology of a killer, perhaps the most shocking thing about 'Vulgar Favors,’ her exhaustive deconstruction of Andrew Cunanan's five murders and his apparent suicide, is the reminder that the killings occurred only two years ago,” explained Bruni.  

“So many other sordid stories have come and gone; so many other villains and victims have laid claim to the media spotlight. Although Orth produced her book as quickly as could be expected, the shelf life of criminal celebrity has shortened to the point where Cunanan's tale already seems old.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)