There was a sad and alarming article in The New York Times yesterday stating that up to a third (240,000) of small businesses in the city are unlikely to reopen. They represent 98% of employers and employ half of New York’s workforce. Now that federal and local payment initiatives are exhausted, businesses in dire straits, are throwing in the towel. They define what New York City is - its originality, legacy, and charm. Already, 520,000 of their 3m jobs have gone. 80% of restaurants paid no rent in June on revenues down 60%. A local restaurant owner told me this week that he paid $15,000 in wages against $13,000 in takings in a newly opened restaurant that had cost him $2m to fit out. There’s no two ways about it: New York is on the slide and it’s a sorry sight indeed.
