Sociologist William Helmreich, Who Walked Nearly Every Street in N.Y.C., Dies of Coronavirus at 74

William Helmreich, the sociologist who famously walked nearly every street in New York City to learn about its residents, has passed away from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at the age of 74.

Helmreich died on Saturday at his home in Great Neck, New York, his son Jeffrey told the New York Times.

His passing was confirmed by The City College of New York, where Helmreich worked as a sociology professor prior to his death.

“It’s my sad duty to tell you that Professor William Helmreich, distinguished professor and foundational member of the CCNY sociology department, has passed away, falling to the coronavirus,” CCNY President Vincent Boudreau said in a statement on Monday.

“Willy—as everyone knew him—was an expansive writer and analyst, covering topics as varied as immigration, life inside yeshivas and the formation of stereotypes. He will, however, almost certainly be most fondly remembered for a joyful series of recent books, chronicling his efforts to walk all the streets of New York, and report on what he saw and heard.”

RELATED: Celebrities We Lost to Coronavirus in 2020

He added, “News of his passing came today with virtually no forewarning—few among us even knew that he was sick—and so serves as an urgent reminder. This virus is profoundly dangerous. Do not lower your guard. Do not confuse recklessness with bravery. Do not believe that we are, any of us, made safe by anything except vigilance and care.”

Born in Switzerland to Holocaust survivors, Helmreich immigrated to New York City as an infant and grew up in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Inspired by a game he played with his father growing up, in which they would ride a subway line and explore the neighborhood where it stopped, Helmreich embarked on a four-year quest to walk every street in five boroughs of New York City and study its residents. His walks resulted in 2013’s The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City, a book which chronicled his strolls and the people he met along the way.

RELATED VIDEO: CNN Host Chris Cuomo, Brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Tests Positive for Coronavirus

In addition to several sociology books, he also wrote 2016’s The Brooklyn Nobody Knows and 2013’s The Manhattan Nobody Knows, two walking guides that explored the city.

Helmreich is survived by his wife, Helaine, and his three children: Deborah, Joseph and Jeffrey. His fourth child, Alan, died in 1998 at the age of 24.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been at least at least 187,176 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with 4,047 deaths from coronavirus-related illness.

Worldwide, there are now 871,400 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 41,742 deaths.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.