Returning en masse to offices has been a great challenge in New York, the so-called “financial capital” of the globe: many people have gotten used to working -and saving- from home. But since it is a city with so many skyscrapers that are currently empty, crime and homelessness continue to gain ground on the streets and the Metro.
A vicious circle has thus been created: many argue that violence and the costs have distanced them from New York, and with this, more abandonment and unemployment are generated, due to the lower commercial activity in mostly corporate areas, such as Midtown and the Financial District, where today there are dozens of unoccupied stores.
To reverse the difficult situation, Governor Kathy Hochul -in an election year- and Mayor Eric Adams have repeatedly urged New Yorkers to return to the office, arguing that remote work is hurting service-oriented companies that depend on a constant flow of clients.
Now the Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell has also joined that goal, holding a series of virtual safety briefings. ity with companies that have requested them since April, highlighted New York Post.
“The mayor and the Police Commissioner will discuss City priorities focused on public safety, homelessness, and protecting members of our community and economy, including the continued response to COVID- and initiatives to encourage New Yorkers to come together with their offices and communities,” reads a recent invitation to employees of large accounting firms.
The reality is that most companies have almost abandoned the option of working full-time in offices and favor a hybrid model at best. Currently, only 8% of employees in Manhattan are in the office five days a week, according to a recent survey by the Partnership for New York City (PFNYC), a business group.
In the middle of 2021 the projection was much higher: a consultation estimated at 60% the return to offices for September in NYC, parallel to the beginning of the school year. But no, it didn’t happen. Nationally, New York has been one of the cities with the lowest rate of return to face-to-face work after confinement, putting the economy most at risk. In parallel, local unemployment doubles the national average.
The efforts of some leaders to bring employees back en masse to NYC have daily obstacles in the figures of insecurity and impunity. There are plenty of examples: last Sunday, in broad daylight, a Hispanic employee of “Goldman Sachs” was shot dead in a random attack inside a subway car, by a gunman with previous arrests. And in February, a female scientist employed by the city miraculously survived being hit with a hammer and robbed on her way out of work. among the best US metropolitan areas to live in 2022-23, despite being cataloged “the capital of the world”, being the mecca of many tourists and immigrants and one of the most expensive cities.
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NY is the state that has lost the most population in throughout the country lately and with this their representation in the Capitol will decrease, since the coronavirus accelerated an exodus trend that had already been going on since 2016. Not surprisingly, in the face of the pandemic and the increase in online purchases, the vacancy of commercial premises and offices has also increased dramatically, in a city full of skyscrapers, most of them work spaces. In 2018 there were 3,60 commercial buildings in Manhattan and since then the construction has not It has stopped. But who will occupy them?
A strong 84% of New Yorkers believe that conditions have worsened in the city since March 2020, when the pandemic began, according to another recent survey. Most cited problems in the Metro as one of the main reasons for urban deterioration.