New York just can’t catch a break, huh? Just this week it was in the news because the disgraced governor, Andrew Cuomo, finally decided to resign. His antics had been in the news for months, as America learned just how despicable he really was.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the region’s problems, including the Big Apple. New York City has suffered tremendously over the last year and a half—thanks mostly to its far-left leadership. Cuomo plunged it into economic ruin with the most severe lockdowns in the country.
And even as the city started to return to normal, the surge in crime—thanks to its idiot mayor—continues to drive people away.
Things might never go back to normal, though, as businesses abandon ship. How bad is it getting? Well, the once business capital in the world is becoming more like a ghost town.
A report from Newmark covering the downtown Manhattan office real estate market during the second quarter of 2021 indicated that despite plummeting rental prices, the availability rate for businesses reached 21.1% in June — a record high. Reports for Midtown and Midtown South reveal similarly high vacancies…
New York continues to lag every other state in economic recovery following COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession. The Back-to-Normal Index, a project of Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business tracking economic rebounds across the country, shows that New York is only operating at 81% of pre-recession capacity — far below the national average of 92%. [Daily Wire]
Most cities started to see a rebound soon after restrictions were lifted. But NY’s leadership waited much longer to do anything, prolonging the anguish. By the time they did start to (slowly) reopen, there wasn’t much left to revive.
And what was there to revive was quickly slammed by raging protests and out-of-control crime.
We shouldn’t be surprised that businesses aren’t coming back to Manhattan. After all, it was Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio who shut them down, forcing them to find alternative ways to work. As more companies resorted to remote working and Zoom meetings, they learned something important: they didn’t need New York.
Imagine how much money they are saving, without having to pay the outrageous rent for office space? And think how happy their employees are; they no longer have to fear getting mugged on their way to work.
Even businesses on Wall Street are abandoning ship. Numerous investment executives are requesting transfers for Florida and beyond. Large companies are eyeing other cities like Atlanta and Dallas.
All of this was unthinkable, just a short time ago. But the combined incompetence and corruption of New York’s leaders have made this a reality. Nobody wants to go back to work in NYC, because it is no longer a place anyone wants to be.
A loss of office workers means other businesses (restaurants, shops, and various services) will go under as well.
The city is going to have to work very hard to get these companies back. But with these Democrats in control, I doubt they will.
Author: Sam Anderson