A sociologist known for walking nearly every block of New York City has died of coronavirus

William Helmreich, a prominent sociologist perhaps best known for walking nearly every block of New York City, died Saturday morning of coronavirus, his family said. … Highly regarded in academia, Helmreich also reveled in the joy and grittiness of everyday life, his family told CNN. “He was so intensely human as a scholar. It was so much about learning with his feet, with his heart, with his intuition, with his gut,” said Jeffrey Helmreich, who is a professor at the University of California, Irvine. “He talked his way into everyone’s hearts and revealed it to the rest of us.”