The easiest and politically safe thing to do was not touch the subsidy. But for decades, the city had relied heavily on the banking and financial services industry. It was said that when Wall Street sneezed, the city caught a cold. So instead of bribing big business to stay in Manhattan, we invested in projects in every borough that attracted new companies from different sectors, such as bioscience, technology, and film and television. Years later, these and other industries – and the jobs and income they generated – helped us weather the Great Recession much better than most cities.
The next government may face similar demands for subsidies from companies that threaten to leave the city. But there are better ways to retain and create jobs than handouts, especially by investing in critical infrastructure, starting with the subway.
A City Stirs
As New York begins its post-pandemic life, we explore Covid’s lasting impact on the city.
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In partnership with the state, the mayor can work to get trains back on full schedules, helping employers in all industries get their workers back and thousands of small businesses and their employees get their customers back. In addition, it would give confidence to those who are thinking of opening their own business.
Whatever policy the next mayor adopts, the fundamental idea is that for a city to recover economically, it takes more than just helping existing businesses. It is necessary to create the conditions for other businesses to open and expand, in order to further diversify the economy.
The second example from Lower Manhattan has to do with housing. In the aftermath of the attacks, many wanted to turn the entire World Trade Center into a memorial or simply rebuild what was before. It seemed to me that both would be a mistake and received strong criticism for suggesting that housing be built on the site. However, our government wanted Lower Manhattan to stop being a business district with only 9 to 5 movement and to become a diverse neighborhood open 24 hours a day.
City leaders had been trying to do this since the 1950s, but had focused their attention on developing buildings, including the original World Trade Center, rather than attracting people. We turned the script around by encouraging new housing development and generating what all residents want: parks, schools and cultural opportunities, including a performing arts center at the World Trade Center, which is nearing completion.
As our vision took shape, more families and youth moved downtown, more businesses opened, more jobs were created, and more visitors came. The last development site of the World Trade Center will be a tower that will have more than a thousand housing units.
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