The COVID-19 death toll in NYC pales in significance compared with previous epidemics there, and that's as bad as it gets in the US this time around, at least so far

Deaths per 1000:

Cholera 1832: 46

Cholera 1834: 36

Cholera 1849: 46

Dysentery/Smallpox 1851: 38

Cholera/Smallpox 1854: 45

Smallpox 1872: 30

Smallpox 1881: 29

Spanish Flu 1918: 17

COVID-19 2020: 2.26 (18,998 confirmed deaths for population of 8.399 million)