Other neighborhoods are rushing to reopen, while Midtown remains stuck in a purgatorial Phase Zero, its very purpose — to bring as many human beings together as possible — strangling most hope of a convincing comeback in the foreseeable future and offering a sign of what may lie in store for business districts across the country.

Upstairs, floors are mostly empty, as companies reassess their need for office space, raising serious questions about the future of the city’s commercial real estate market. Downstairs, streets were lined with the creature comforts that made working in Midtown not only bearable, but even fun. They are vanishing, and with them, the men and women who fed, clothed, poured drinks for and drove the people in those tall buildings…

Both Mr. Luskin and Ms. Skakel showed optimism that Midtown would rebound, just as it has before, from high crime, financial crises and the 9/11 attacks, which struck fear in many people working in tall buildings.

But in the short term, those buildings are preparing reopening protocols that will bear very little resemblance to life before the pandemic. Before returning to the office, employees will watch videos that lay out the new world: masks, temperature checks, contact tracing questions, a maximum of four to an elevator, with arrows on the floor pointing at the corners. Employees will essentially make reservations to enter the building, with a computer rejecting new arrivals after the maximum number is reached.