Clouds on the Horizon
Clouds on the Horizon
Crain’s New York Business reports that Lower Manhattan is “on the edge”, citing the following grim statistics:
- 48,000 fewer workers downtown than before Sept. 11
- 2.7 million fewer tourists downtown than before Sept. 11
- 13% of downtown real estate is occupied by AIG, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs
- 12 million square feet expected to come on the market, excluding financial services consolidation
- 57,000 residents in lower Manhattan
- 1/3 of all downtown jobs are tied to financial services, insurance and real estate
The Lower Manhattan community has not fully recovered from the losses caused by the events of September 11 and now faces a much greater threat from the collapse of the financial sector, the leading employer in New York City. Local restaurants report that business is down as much as 40% as compared with this time last year and other small businesses that serve the financial sector, such as car services, law firms, accounting firms, print shops, etc., report comparable declines. Given the lack of diversification of the economy, the mood in the community is grim. The consequences to our local economy here in New York are not likely appreciated elsewhere across the United States, given the entirely appropriate focus on the consequences of the credit crisis for all of us. But for many of us here, the financial crisis is a small business disaster. What has not yet been reported, and I hope will attract the attention of journalists, is that many of the same institutions currently receiving bailouts in the form of TARP funds also received federal government aid in the aftermath of 9-11 – aid which was championed for the benefit of firefighters and emergency rescue workers with urgent medical needs, small businesses and other less powerful constituencies.