An entrepreneur who was a passionate New Yorker has why the city will never recover from the COVID-19 pandemic; the culture that drew millions has disintegrated, restaurants are shuttering and businesses people no longer need to be in the city to do their office jobs.
Many fled New York in March, when it was the epicenter of the pandemic, with the intention of returning when things began reopening.
But as the lockdown dragged on, forcing hundreds of businesses to close their doors, and as businesses survived with a remote workforce, many abandoned their apartment leases permanently for more spacious homes in different states.
In recent weeks, crime has shot up and homelessness is spreading across the city.
James Altrucher, who co-owns a comedy club in the city and also describes himself as an angel investor and author, is among the many who have fled.
He and his family have gone to Miami indefinitely.
In a blog post, he mapped out why his feelings had changed. Initially, he and his family decided to stay in the city but as riots and looting took hold for a week, they fled south.
An abandoned Times Square on Saturday with a billboard welcoming people back to the city
Altrucher says there are three major factors when considering if the city will never bounce back – business opportunities, food and culture.
Those are what brought millions to New York, but now none exist in the same way. Unlike in previous times of crisis, it has not been shut down for weeks on end, he said.
‘NYC has never been locked down for five months. Not in any pandemic, war, financial crisis, never.
‘In the middle of the polio epidemic, when little kids (including my mother) were becoming paralyzed or dying (my mother ended up with a bad leg), NYC didn’t go through this,’ he wrote.
James Altrucher, who co-owns a comedy club in the city and also describes himself as an angel investor and author, is among the many who have fled
The three things that drew people to New York en masse – opportunities, food and culture – have all now been wiped out.
Businesses have realized they can continue to operate successfully with a remote staff. There are few that have returned as a result.
Unlike in previous crisis, working remotely now is seamless thanks to developments in technology.
‘I lived three blocks from Ground Zero on 9/11. Downtown, where I lived, was destroyed, but it came roaring back within two years. Such sadness and hardship and then quickly that area became the most attractive area in New York.
‘And in 2008/2009, there was much suffering during the Great Recession, again much hardship, but things came roaring back.
‘But… this time is different. You’re never supposed to say that but this time it’s true. If you believe this time is no different, that NYC is resilient, I hope you’re right.
‘I don’t benefit from saying any of this. I love NYC. I was born there. I’ve lived there forever. I STILL live there. I love everything about NYC. I want 2019 back.
‘But this time is different. One reason: Bandwidth.’
In 2008, the average bandwidth speed was megabits per second, which was not fast enough for a Zoom meeting. Now, it’s 20 per second.
‘There’s a before and after. BEFORE: No remote work. AFTER: Everyone can work remotely. The difference: bandwidth got faster. And that’s basically it. People have left New York City and have moved completely into virtual worlds.
‘The Time-Life Building doesn’t need to fill up again. Wall Street can now stretch across every street instead of just being one building in Manhattan.
‘We are officially AB: After Bandwidth. And for the entire history of NYC (the world) until now, we were BB: Before Bandwidth. Remote learning, remote meetings, remote offices, remote performance, remote everything.
‘That’s what is different,’ he said.
In the last week, there have been more than 60 shootings across New York City that have left 76 people injured and 14 dead. Above, one crime scene on August 16
Protesters were seen stopping cars and threatening them in Manhattan over the weekend
Homeless encampments are popping up all over the city. Pictured, one of the encampments in lower Manhattan
Homeless people in New York City on August 14. Some residents say they no longer want to stay in New York because the homeless population is growing and becoming more aggressive
With no requirement to stay in the city for their jobs, many are unwilling to put up with the escalating crime.
One man wrote in a Facebook group: ‘In the last week: I watched a homeless person lose his mind and start attacking random pedestrians.
‘Including spitting on, throwing stuff at, and swatting.
‘I’ve seen several single parents with a child asking for money for food. And then, when someone gave them food, tossed the food right back at them. I watched a man yell racist slurs at every single race of people while charging, then stopping before going too far.’
Another said: ‘I’ve been living in New York City for about 10 years. It has definitely gotten worse and there’s no end in sight.
‘My favorite park is Madison Square Park. About a month ago a 19-year-old girl was shot and killed across the street.
‘I don’t think I have an answer but I do think it’s clear: it’s time to move out of NYC.
‘I’m not the only one who feels this way, either. In my building alone, the rent has plummeted almost 30% — more people are moving away than ever before. So…
‘It’s not goodbye yet. But a lifelong New Yorker is thinking about it.’
Altucher said he was not tempted to leave until June, when riots and looting took over the city for a week.
‘Nothing was wrong with the protests but I was a little nervous when I saw videos of rioters after curfew trying to break into my building,’ he wrote.
He has now moved with his family to south Florida and is unsure if they’ll come back.
‘I’m temporarily, although maybe permanently, in South Florida now. I also got my place sight unseen,’ he wrote.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association, the largest NYPD union, is endorsing Trump for re-election. The union is furious with de Blasio for stripping some of the police department’s resources
President Trump has lashed out at New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio after a weekend of violence in which at least 50 people were shot in various incidents across the city
The NYPD’s largest union – the Sergeants Benevolent Association – has taken the unorthodox step of formally endorsing Trump because cops are so frustrated with de Blasio’s handling of the city.
In June, he stripped the NYPD of $1billion in response to Black Lives Matter protesters who wanted to defund the department entirely.
Trump has vowed to revitalize the city if he wins the November election, but he hasn’t yet explained how. De Blasio remains in power until November 2021. He cannot be re-elected.
On Monday morning, the President phoned into Fox & Friends to discuss a range of issues, including New York City.
‘The mayor has no response. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, he’s a fool.
‘He’s a socialist, communist maybe he’s a fool. He got rid of some of the most talented policemen that there are in the world and that includes looking for very bad things all beyond New York.
‘Some of those people are gone and that’s no good. No, this is a fool. This is a fool.’ he said of de Blasio.
Crime has shot up in recent weeks, particularly shootings. There were more than 60 shootings across New York City in the last week, leaving 76 people injured.
In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising
As shootings spiral, there is also a growing homeless problem with encampments popping up all over Manhattan. 13,000 homeless people have also been moved into hotels around the city
Trump said on Monday: ‘Look at the shootings. When I left New York four years ago, New York was, I could see the seeds of this because he’s been a bad mayor but new York was good.
‘It was okay. It all happened recently. It all came together. All of this over a period of years as he’s been mayor, but about a year, and then six months ago, it’s incredible what happened.
‘When I left New York four years ago, we were doing great. I was doing good. Everybody was doing good. Now but you could see the seeds were being sewn.
‘The seeds it was happening, bad stuff was happening you could see it, the squeegies were starting to come out, tents were starting to be built on the sidewall.’
The President then praised Rudy Giuliani as a ‘great mayor’ who did ‘a great job’.
‘Rudy Giuliani did a great job, between window, you know, fixed broken windows because he said that’s a sign and it leads a lot of people wouldn’t even understand that.
‘It’s psychologically very important but Rudy, he was a great mayor and he did stop and frisk. He did stop and frisk. He took guns away from bad people.
‘Now, if you take a gun away from a bad people oh, you got, you know, they sue you.
‘They sue you. It’s so crazy what they’ve allowed to happen,’ he fumed.
Trump added that most of the country was ‘strong’ and ‘law abiding’, but that Democratic cities like New York, Chicago and Portland are ‘run by fools’.
Last week, it emerged that 13,000 apartments were sitting empty in New York, the highest number in 14 years.