The Big Apple's core problem

There are some questions to which the answer is always yes. “Can I get you another coffee?” “Do you need a massage?” “Are you planning to visit New York anytime soon?”
New York is always on my let’s-go list. That’s partly, of course, because there is always something new to check out: restaurants (such as L’Abeille and Nudibranch), hotels (such as Ace Brooklyn or the forthcoming Aman New York), and even parks (can’t wait to visit Little Island, floating above the Hudson River).

Perhaps the real joy of heading New York, however, is the chance to rediscover your favourite neighbourhoods: and I love them all, from the buzz of Hell’s Kitchen to the elegance of the Upper East Side and out to hipster haven Williamsburg.

Perhaps the one place in New York that I don’t love is the most instagrammed landmark in the USA. That’s right, I’m talking about Times Square, a chaotic place known for drawing huge crowds of people who came largely, it seems, to be part of the crowd.

Incredibly, before the pandemic, Times Square – a place where entertainment and commerce collide - generated 15 percent of the city’s economic output in just 0.1 percent of the land area.

But Times Square has a problem, as the New York Times recently reported. Although tourists are flocking back – visitor numbers are back to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels – only 60 per cent of the area’s office workers have returned. The rest are choosing to work from home – in part to avoid the tourist crowds.

Why does that matter? Because the absence of office workers is impacting countless small businesses, from cafes to dry-cleaners, who are going out of business. And nothing drags a neighbourhood down faster than empty shopfronts. That’s before you even look at the economic flow-on effects.

It’s not a problem unique to New York, of course. For several years, cities have been grappling with the dilemma of how to balance the needs of tourists and the needs of locals. And there has to be a balance, because most of us travel not to hang with other tourists, but to enjoy the local flavour. As in other areas of life, Covid has just added to the complexity. Here’s hoping some of that renowned Yankee ingenuity finds a handy solution to the core problem of Times Square.

ONE MORE THING

Piet Mondrian, Victory Boogie Woogie, 1942-1944 (New York). Loan ICN, Amsterdam

Among the museums marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of artist Piet Mondrian is the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands, home to the world’s largest Mondrian collection. Their Mondrian Moves exhibition doesn’t just examine how Mondrian’s work developed throughout his career; it also looks at the artists he influenced and inspired, and even lets you experience the smell of his studios in Amsterdam, Paris and New York. Until September 25.