Cash flow was improving. Although the Platt Pavilion was still closed and the infirmary was still turning away ophthalmia cases, hopes rose for a partial reopening by the coming year. Despite lessons learned, it had been a close call. Demoralizing as this period had been, an uneven but steady recovery was underway by the early 20th century. New York City, now including Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, totaled square miles and a population of more than 3 million: the largest city in the United States and one of the largest in the world, second only to London.