2023 was my last visit to NYC, and the cracks were showing (and expanding) then. But it was a Utopia compared to what it has become. You wouldn't think the reek of stale piss in the subways would be something you'd miss, until you experience the pong of marijuana that overlays it these days. In the sub-zero temperatures, Mayor Towelhead decided that trying to move the homeless into heated shelters was a violation of their civil liberties, leaving more than a dozen to freeze to death on the streets. A $2.2 billion budget shortfall is predicted this year, with a $10.4 billion gap in 2027. This is what happens when you tank your tax revenues by driving out wealthy residents and businesses. There has been a 40% surge in bankruptcy filings, mainly due to lost business because people with money don't want to live in or visit NYC anymore. The city is literally driving away the customers. Low-end tourism doesn't pay the bills. And when you are a wealthy resident and the city wants to tax you more to pay for their mismanagement, it's very easy to pick up and move to greener pastures. When wealthy people leave, places like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus won't last long, as shown by their recent Chapter 11 filing.
While I was there, we had dinner with a friend who sings on Broadway and at the Met. He said they're calling it the Fall of Rome. Audiences are down sharply, with those seats that are filled only due to half-price tickets. Patrons and corporate donors have left the city and taken their checkbooks with them. Close to 90% of Broadway productions are failing to recoup their initial investment.
Restaurants aren't faring much better - 72% are reporting declining sales. Places that I remember as New York dining institutions, such as Café Un Deux Trois, Rue 57, Elephant & Castle, DB Bistro Moderne, Chez Napoleon, and Les Halles, are all gone. Most of them were in operation over 25 years. Horrible chains selling highly-processed fast "food" are everywhere, however, catering to that demographic that is killing the economy.
Happily I only have one more visit I have to make this month, and then I can stick to civilization.
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