NYC, through no fault of its own, became Ground Zero for the pandemic. They experienced the "perfect storm" of large numbers of foreign visitors, necessary intermingling of people (in subways, buses, various venues), and an understandable reluctance to shut down, as necessary - nobody knew how this would play out. They remain, by far, the hardest hit city in the country, inflating all the bad numbers for the whole of the U.S.A.
New York is a GREAT city. No matter what your interests are (with a few exceptions), you can enjoy them in New York (or nearby), and often to a greater extent than anywhere else. It is mostly outrageously expensive, but many things can be found at very reasonable cost - and of course not needing a car softens the blow of the stratospheric housing costs. In fact, many "New Yorkers" don't actually live in New York, but commute from the four points of the compass into one of the five boroughs.
New York is a cultural cornucopia for music, performing arts and the graphic arts. It also has hundreds of interesting historic and architectural wonders, and the unique Central Park. It is one of the greatest places to go for a walk on the planet.
As fucked up as City Hall is, it is not sufficiently fucked up to ruin life the city for those who live there. One could write books about the inefficiency, waste, corruption, featherbedding, incompetence, and general hostility to business of the city government, with all its bureaus, agencies, and departments. (I have read that 25% of New Yorkers either work for the city or are supported by someone who is). But still, it's a great city with its fair share of poverty, crime, and craziness.
The devastation of the pandemic may actually be a good thing for New York. It may bring real estate prices and rents down a bit. It will give new entrepreneurs the opportunity to take the place of those that failed.
New York will be fine. Maybe not tomorrow, but in a while.
www.cnbc.com
