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With COVID-19 positivity rates hovering between 4 and 5 percent statewide, Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided to reopen indoor dining at 25 percent capacity beginning on Feb. 12. This news, paired with increased vaccine rollout, gave restaurants in Morningside Heights a sliver of hope, especially since more than 1,000 restaurants in New York City have closed since March.

The three R’s of sustainability: reduce, reuse, and recycle. These practices are essential for a green future, but more often than not, composting is forgotten in the mix.

The “new normal” I had heard about for months was in front of me. I was eating lunch in an outdoor tent in mid-January, talking with classmates I had previously only seen in Zoom squares. I was grateful to experience a taste of campus life. I’d been home since March, but the comfortable warmth I felt seeing the lit trees along College Walk for the first time and building a snowman in front of Butler Library was the most at home I’d felt in months.

Wind gushes down Broadway, pushing stressed students toward their dorms as they tuck their hands in their coat pockets and their ears in their hats. Twelve coffee shops offer these students a momentary haven filled with the smells of fresh coffee and tea. COVID-19 indoor dining restrictions prohibit students from hauling their books and laptops to these shops, but warm drinks in disposable cups keep the shops alive and Morningside Heights and Harlem residents toasty.

On Dec. 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that indoor dining will be suspended in New York City restaurants starting Monday, dealing a major setback to the city’s already struggling restaurant industry. The decision comes as the city faces rising hospitalization rates; as of Dec. 11, 1,668 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York City, which is on a trajectory to hit 90 percent of its hospital capacity.

After over six months of closure, the historic brown and red booths of Tom’s Restaurant are once again occupied by tourists, Seinfeld enthusiasts, and locals. Since June, diners have chowed down on burgers, pancakes, eggs, and Tom’s iconic milkshakes outdoors in the summer heat while sitting at the restaurant’s bright orange tables. However, the inside of the restaurant remained off-limits for dining until now.

A few months after New York City ended its takeout-only restaurant model this June, Morningside Heights' food scene has slowly and shakily regained its bustling vibrancy.

Lately, I’ve been reframing the unique features of my body as gifts from generations before me. I imagine my smile as belonging to my ancestors who found reasons to smile despite great adversities. I wonder if my back that allows me to stand tall belonged to men who refused to cower in fear. Did my hips belong to women who found rhythm in the crashing waves of the Caribbean Sea?

Traditionally, food delivery options around campus have included Shake Shack, Chipotle, and Domino’s Pizza. This semester, John Jay Dining Hall, Ferris Booth Commons, and JJ’s Place join that list following the release of Grubify, a new student-developed food delivery service platform that allows students to order food from campus dining halls and have it delivered right to their doors called Grubify.