Midtown Manhattan, which has been in the doldrums for much of the pandemic, has finally begun showing signs of life. But that progress may be threatened by the surge in coronavirus cases from the spread of the Delta variant.Outlying areas soldiered on during lockdowns, sustained by residents who spent money locally because many of them were holed up at home, but the city’s central business district languished. Midtown, commonly defined as the area from 34th to 59th Streets, doesn’t have a significant residential population, and when the office workers and tourists vanished, precious few people were left. …
