Is New York City an Empire in Decline? | NYT Opinion

New York City was built on big, bold ideas. The vision of past leaders kept New Yorkers in town and captured the imaginations of millions from around the world who came here to “make it.” In the Video Op-Ed above, Mara Gay, a native New Yorker who has reported on the streets of this city for seven years, questions where all that vision is today. She argues that New York’s current leaders need to bring big ambition and hustle to serve their residents. She supplies ideas of what vision could look like to a mayor whose reluctant homecoming offers dim hope for the city. New Yorkers, she says, deserve more.

This isn’t just a New York story — it’s a trend in many cities around the world, where broad public programs are pushed aside for narrow corporate interests and where transformative polices are as hard to come by as affordable rents.

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[Parisbella]

You want to increase train service to suburbs like Yonkers and white plains meanwhile the whole East side of Queens doesn’t have train service at all

[ceebeeelem]

let me repeat this in case it was missed:

hundreds of luxury condos are sitting empty

....

[AdamRizzelStudios]

She hit the nail right on the head. NYC has become an amusement park for the rich and for upper-middle class tourists who want to feel rich for a weekend. The city is in a cultural identity crisis. The coffee houses where Bob Dylan used to play in the village have now turned into vegan cupcake stores. Museums where aspiring artists used to go and study others in their craft have turned into places where people go just to get photos for their Instagram stories. Broadway shows resemble the attractions of Universal Studios (King King, Harry Potter). Kids from rich families move to NYC to study at 60, 000/yr schools, just so they can feel like they're living in an episode of Friends and so they can humble-brag to their FaceBook friends that they're drinking an over-priced cocktail at a roof-top bar. Living here, it often feels like a playground for the rich and for tourists who are spending a large chunk of change over a weekend. The corruption and broken infrastructure rises to the top when you move from playing here to living here.

[LukasLwM]

Not just NYC but this is happening across all the major cities in US!

[Torontopia]

It never mentioned that New York's population is going down, unlike most other cities! People are moving away because it's too expensive to live there!

[l-y-d-s]

NYC is “cool” but it has two horrible problems: 1)The percent of income going to rent is astronomical and can be debilitating if you ever want to have savings or be able to retire. 2) The public transit is simply inadequate and severely underfunded thanks to years of neglect and disinvestment. DeBlasio is in bed with the real estate people who build luxury condos and price native New Yorkers out of their neighborhoods.

[JustinLHopkins]

America itself is in decline. Our politicians keep us fighting over divisive social issues. The middle class is decimated and our infrastructure is a crumbling disaster on par with the third world.

Thanks for the upvotes. It’s good to know that people are aware of this problem.

[pamelahomeyer]

Too many city planners all over the country are out of touch with the average person.

[jasonbellini]

This is what happens when the rich don't get taxed and the poor shoulder the entire financial burden alone.

[yidingyang]

I disagree with getting rid of the admissions test. Instead we need to improve elementary and middle school education so everyone has an equal chance.

[blackflyingfox]

Overpriced, overrated, overcrowded, overhyped.

[prophetsprofits]

There's an old saying here : "New York City is for the very rich and very young."

[JDiculous]

I spent 5 years in NYC. The first year was awesome. After that, things just got worse as I noticed what a sh**hole the city actually is. I saw firsthand the enormous homeless population growing each year while the only new buildings that pop up are glass luxury condos that serve only to help foreign oligarchs launder their fortunes. Mom and pop shops are being replaced with Chase bank branches and corporate franchises. Living in a shoebox in a literal tenement building costs $2-4k/month. The subway has gotten worse every year and is on the verge of disaster due to neglect. Aggressive panhandlers and mentally ill homeless people shouting to themselves everywhere. I once saw one of them pull their pants down and take a sh** in a public park in broad daylight.

NYC is a playground for rich people and trust fund babies. Any character it once had is long gone, the interesting people have already left and moved on with their lives. Live there for a year or two if you have to for that job, but then gtfo. Unless you're a multimillionaire, housing is too expensive there, so you can't afford to plant any roots and build a future there.

[Chasmofmisery]

Born and raised here (Flatbush) and its devastating to see how the rent prices and co op HOA fees went up.

[rittmeister]

“The New York Times’ long-standing motto, “All the News That’s Fit to Print” should be changed to reflect today’s reality: “Manufacturing News to Fit an Ideology.”
― Thomas Sowell, Dismantling America

[itseveryday]

One thing I would like to have changed is smell of urine that's all over the place in nyc. Since de blasio made it not an offense to pee on nyc streets, the smell is everywhere! Create some facilities for homeless people that need it, but don't turn our streets into a urinal.

[iamdmc]

Worldwide problem, not just NYC


Revolution can't be far behind

[omegabeta]

San Fran is basically the same way. Fall of Rome is near?

[matthewhackett]

Population has tripled since the early 90’s and NY lost its identity along the way. Infrastructure is barely functioning.Transplants don’t have a proper display of street smarts and general road awareness to demonstrate for future generations to learn from.

[RV-wmxr]

Whos bright idea was it to build these super tall and ugly condos literally no one can afford