Physical City: Christopher Bonanos At 110 Degrees, What in New York Breaks First?

"The scale of the problem really intimidates me."

- Christopher Bonanos

GOOD MORNING! It's August 14, 2073, and it's going to be a real scorcher. Yesterday was pretty bad in New York City-the thermometer reached 107, but you've seen it higher-and today will be worse. It's noisy in your apartment because the city is repaving the street, just as it did last fall. As it happens, you have a midday flight to Montreal, where your client has relocated from Miami. There's a knock at your door; it's a pair of EMTs doing a wellness check on your next-door neighbor, who is 89 and hasn't been seen for a few days. Turns out she's okay, but she's breathing a little hard and not moving around much, so they implore her to keep the air conditioner on.

When you step outside, dogs are whimpering as their paws hit the concrete. The crosswalk is even worse, literally hot enough to burn the pink pads on their feet. You had planned to take the new N-train extension to La Guardia, but it has gone out of service because the steel rails near 30th Avenue have expanded in the sun and buckled. Instead, you take a taxi, and though the driver is concerned about his decreased battery range in this heat, you make it then discover that La Guardia is curtailing takeoffs till dusk.

Rather than sit at the airport, you decide to get on the short section of the N train that is running back to Astoria, and you find a café there so you can work. Outside, two high-school students have set up a live stream. They've laid a skillet on the asphalt, and they crack an egg into it, hoping for a sizzle. When they pick up the pan, the bottom brings soft tar with it. The kids point an infrared thermometer at the blacktop and pull the trigger. It reads 152 degrees.