Time to ponder what lies ahead for LI

Many Americans already have seen changes in their workplace, with no loss in production. Will telecommuting remain in place, especially for Long Islanders who work in the city? What changes should occur to accommodate social distancing, and how will that affect productivity? Should admission to large workplaces depend on some medical testing criteria? Will videoconferencing permanently disrupt the business trip?

For essential workers from MTA train and bus conductors to medical staff and grocery clerks, staying on the job sometimes led to contracting the virus. Do workers need more protections, like sick leave, hazard pay and a better minimum wage? Is a universal basic income now essential? Will unemployment increase as robots and artificial intelligence systems are deployed? When the pandemic is over, will we still see as heroes the underpaid and overworked essential workers keeping us alive now, and compensate them as such?

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that government is critical, and that those working in it must be competent and skilled. That requires training and experience. Will we demand those traits of those who run for elective office?

The virus also has exposed the sorry state of technology and digital infrastructure in government, especially at local levels. Elected officials have starved technology of resources for too long at the expense of other priorities or flashier improvements. Antiquated computers and software, data collection problems, and the inability of state and local governments to connect with one another plagued the response in New York and elsewhere. How will we resolve this crisis? How should we modernize government to better prepare for emergencies, so that warnings and information can be sent and benefits like unemployment delivered more efficiently? Why did the state need so many emergency executive orders to address so many situations? Can voting be modernized so elections are conducted mostly by mail, and polling sites made safe for workers and voters?

How do we ensure that all levels of government examine their response to the pandemic and produce blueprints for the next one? What should the federal government do about broken supply chains, especially for medical supplies and pharmaceuticals? Can they be rebuilt and safeguarded, or should each nation build its own supply chain, which could mean incentivizing offshore manufacturing to return to the U.S.? Should the pandemic force a reconsideration of what government spends money on and what it does not?

Besides abruptly stopping in-person learning, COVID-19 also has shined a harsh light on differences in education received by students in wealthier and poorer districts, a chronic problem on Long Island. Can technology address this bedrock issue of equity? Should resources be distributed differently? School districts reorganized? Can taxpayers still afford to fund education at the same levels as before? Does distance learning become a routine part of K-12 and higher education? What are parents’ roles in this vision? Can college dorms be retrofitted to increase safety? What will happen to higher education business models if students refuse to return in September? Will Long Island’s community colleges become temporary landing spots for students leery of going away? Will others shut their doors?

The most profound changes are likely to come in the delivery and cost of health care. How can the system be made more flexible and more efficient to better deal with surges of patients? Can resources be better deployed? As we fix cracks in the public health system exposed by COVID-19, how can we finally ensure access to affordable health care for all Americans? This virus has taught us a lesson of biblical proportions: our own health depends on the health of others. How to address chronic issues of health equity, the systemic differences in overall health and health care access for people of different races and ethnic backgrounds?

Technology can help stop the spread of highly contagious viruses via the tracking capability of smartphones. But Americans express deep skepticism about losses of privacy. How can those competing interests be balanced? How does our faith in science, experts and data emerge from this? Will this crisis highlight the need to adequately fund science?

Density helped spread the virus. But it’s not the enemy, it’s the lifeblood of vibrant communities. How can cities be re-engineered for virus protection? Should some streets be shut to auto traffic, some sidewalks widened to allow more distancing, and more bike lanes and walking paths created? Should buildings be improved by increasing ventilation, filtration and humidity to control microbes and reduce susceptibility to germs? How will suburbs that desperately need more housing stock meet that demand while smartly designing for public health? Will the ease of telecommuting prompt city residents to relocate to the suburbs and drive up single-family home prices? Or will they demand more centralized downtown environments? Will their workplaces relocate part of the operations here as well? How will these new considerations affect development at the Nassau Hub, Ronkonkoma Hub and the Heartland project in Brentwood?

For reasons ranging from air pollution to congestion to climate change, metropolitan areas like New York have been urging commuters to abandon cars and embrace mass transit. Capacity is being increased on the Long Island Rail Road and improvements made to city transit. But progress is threatened with commuters now saying it’s safer to drive. Beyond enhanced cleaning, how can government remake mass transit so it is seen by riders as safe? Can air travel survive social-distancing policies and still be offered at a reasonable cost? Will ferry service, long-struggling to gain a Long Island toehold, become an attractive option?

As coronavirus guidelines grounded rituals and celebrations that define our sense of community, resourceful Long Islanders replaced them with drive-by birthday parties and family gatherings on Zoom. How much will we blend old and new? Stung by sudden distancing from loved ones, will we be even more attuned to family and friends? Will we be as helpful and attentive to others? Will COVID-19 alter the bounds of the nuclear family by bringing grandparents, now isolated, into the household with parents and children? Will we continue to live as much of our lives online? Will we keep walking? Or will the virus teach us to be more wary of intimacy and contact?

Their reliance on communal experiences dictates a steep climb back. Likely to be among the last sectors to fully return, they face a daunting obstacle in convincing people of their safety, critical for a tourism-dependent region like Long Island. How will we spend our vacations and leisure time? How can beaches, so essential to life on Long Island, be safely reopened? Will we feel comfortable visiting big cities, staying in hotels, going on cruises, flying, or patronizing restaurants, bars, movie theaters, Broadway shows, museums, sporting events and concerts? How will businesses dependent on crowds survive? Will large swathes of people prefer less crowded experiences, and how will the industry adapt?

The editorial board

This is the first in a series of editorials in which the Newsday editorial board will explore the fundamental changes that must be made in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The virus has exposed many cracks and fissures in many aspects of our society — from health care to government to education, from the way we work to the way we recreate to the very way we live.

Newsday’s editorial board does not want to make this exploration alone. We want to hear from you, our readers. We want to know what you’re thinking, and what ideas you have for addressing the problems laid bare by COVID-19, to help guide the discussion in the weeks and months ahead.

Please post your thoughts, up to 500 words, at www.newsday.com/FutureVisionLI