TLCMKT News (10.02.20): Up To 50% Of NYC Bars & Restaurants Could Close Permanently, How Covid Broke Times Square, ‘Anarchy’ Is Not a NYC Crisis (Op-Ed), NYC Downgraded by Moody's

Select TLCMKT news headlines for Friday, October 2nd 2020.

NYS Comptroller Audit: Up To 50% Of NYC Bars And Restaurants Could Close Permanently In Next 6 Months (CBS)

• On Thursday, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a new report that shows how many restaurants and bars in the city may never recover.

  “Twenty five percent is not going to cut it. That’s 15 people in here,” Iliopoulos said, adding he normally has 60. “It’s in the negative. Every day, we’re in the negative.” - Aki Iliopoulos, owner of the Staten Island Diner

• Link to story

How Covid Broke Times Square, the Heart of New York’s Economy (WSJ)

• While outdoor dining and street life offered some hope for pockets of Manhattan, Times Square is experiencing practically none of that because the area is disproportionately dependent on tourists and office workers who aren’t coming anymore.

• New Year’s Eve ball drop will take place online with entrance to the square restricted to a short list of VIPs.

  “The competitive strength of New York City relative to Stamford or Greenwich, Conn., is that people want to have fun…and that’s the business of Times Square.” - Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance

• Link to story

‘Anarchy’ Is Not a New York City Crisis. It’s a Lifestyle. (WSJ)

• Jason Gay writes a thought-provoking and humorous opinion piece on NYC in the Wall Street Journal

  Yes: There are reports that some New Yorkers are fleeing town, escaping to mellower communities with open space, bad pizza and pigeons that don’t smoke cigarettes. Good luck to all of them. We’ll still try and help you find “Hamilton” tickets when Broadway reopens.

  This is the weirdest part: New Yorkers are saying hi to each other. We’re looking out. They won’t tell this version of the story on cable news, but New York City is actually a pretty nice place to live now. This concrete town has faced plenty of crises, and it always finds its way back. Shhhhh. Please don’t tell anyone—especially the Feds.

• Link to story

New York Downgraded as Moody’s Warns Long Return to Normal (Bloomberg)

• New York City and New York State had their credit ratings lowered Thursday by Moody’s Investors Service.

• New York City and State are still “Gold Standard” credits, and there’s no cause for concern, Citigroup Inc. strategists said Friday.

• NYC accounts for 60% of the state’s $1.6 trillion economy.

  “The downgrade reflects the substantial financial challenges New York City faces caused by the economic response to the coronavirus pandemic and our expectation that New York City is on a longer recovery path than most other major cities.” - Nicholas Samuels, a lead analyst at Moody’s

• Link to story

NYC Weather from The Weather Channel

The TLCMKT Newsletter is written by Dawood Mian, Founder & CEO of TLCMKT. I cover the NYC ridehailing industry and related news. Search TLCMKT for TLC cars, parts, service, accessories, professional services, reviews & more. Find great deals at TLCMKT.COM.