Who’s afraid of the big, bad virus? Supposedly it’s everyone who won’t come into the city because the bug made it too dangerous. But what’s really spooked them is our elected officials’ spectacularly effective campaign to ruin New York City, and Manhattan in particular, brick by brick.
The town’s current pandemic peril is near-negligible. Its new-infection rate hovering around 1.58 percent as of Friday — much of it due to a few “red zone” neighborhoods in the outer boroughs — is the envy of major world capitals.
But Gov. Cuomo’s and Mayor de Blasio’s message for The City That Never Sleeps is: Don’t Even Get Out of Bed.
As penance for their early blunders that drove the virus’ explosive spread last winter, they overcompensate with draconian measures that took away much of the city’s energy and allure.
My suburban friends who won’t come to town say it’s “too dangerous.” They’re embarrassed to admit the real reason: Much about the city they once loved to visit just plain stinks.
Office towers are 85 percent empty, threatening landlords’ ability to pay taxes if tenants walk away from leases. The scarcity of Midtown and Downtown workers is ruinous to shops and restaurants. But why should private-sector employees return to their desks when de Blasio refuses to call back his own, 350,000-strong workforce? Could City Hall send a more damaging signal?
This article was sourced from NYPost
