MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
At a time when social distancing has many of us feeling isolated, audio producer Gary Hardcastle finds community and his city's nightly display of appreciation for the health care workers facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
GARY HARDCASTLE, BYLINE: My wife and I are alone on the roof of our apartment building in Manhattan, eight floors above our neighborhood's residential streets. The sun is setting on a beautiful spring day, but the streets are nearly empty.
(SOUNDBITE OF AMBIENCE)
HARDCASTLE: We wait. At 7 p.m., it starts.
(SOUNDBITE OF CLAP)
HARDCASTLE: A lone clap.
(SOUNDBITE OF CLAPPING)
HARDCASTLE: Now windows are going up, and folks across the street are on their fire escapes with pots and pans.
(SOUNDBITE OF POTS AND PANS CLATTERING)
HARDCASTLE: Horns are added to the mix.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORNS)
HARDCASTLE: The neighborhood is at full volume. My wife joins.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Woo-hoo (ph).
(SOUNDBITE OF HORNS, CLAPPING)
HARDCASTLE: Every day now in our city and around the world, medical workers are risking their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Woo-hoo.
HARDCASTLE: The applause, the cheering is to show we care.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORNS, CLAPPING)
HARDCASTLE: It goes on for two or three more minutes. My wife smiles at me, and I hand her my microphone.
Whoa. Yeah. Whoa. Yeah.
For NPR News, I'm Gary Hardcastle in Inwood, Manhattan. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.