Homeless camp in Manhattan's Chelsea district angers locals Manhattan or Skid Row? New York's homeless community use furniture and junk abandoned by wealthy people fleeing the city during the pandemic to build a sidewalk camp The camp on West 24th and Sixth Avenue sprung up early in the pandemic and has remained ever since Now residents and business owners complain about the mess and chaos and say it harms their livelihoods Around 15-20 people have taken up residence along the busy street and are camping out in doorways Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York, said on July 23 he would address the situation but little is being done He has moved 13,000 homeless people into hotels across the city to stop COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters It has sparked a rise in crime in some neighborhoods, like the Upper West Side, where residents are terrified There are also several hotels in the Garment District that are taking in homeless people It is costing the city some $2million a night - which they say they'll try to reclaim from FEMA later President Trump has ordered de Blasio - who stripped $1billion from the NYPD's budget- to rehire cops More than 1,100 cadets who were meant to graduate never did because he evaporated their jobs in response to pressure from BLM activists who wanted to defund the police https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...t-angers-local-business-owners-residents.html Exasperated residents of Manhattan's Chelsea district say they are tired of complaining to the authorities about a sprawling homeless camp that has taken root in their midst. Around 20 people are believed to be living along West 24th Street, on the corner with Sixth Avenue, The New York Post reported. The camp is one block from the landmark Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park. Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York, promised three weeks ago to resolve the depressing scene but nothing has been done, and locals told the paper that they were fed up. On July 23 he said he would do 'whatever it takes' to 'have it addressed right away', but the camp has only grown. It comes as more than 13,000 homeless people settle into hotels across the city after being removed from homeless shelters to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. Now, they are living in some luxury hotels in the Garment District and Upper West Side and are terrifying residents. De Blasio says they'll stay there until there's a vaccine which could be another six months. There are also fewer police on the streets since de Blasio and the city council cut the NYPD's budget by $1billion in response to pressure from BLM activists last month. Many wealthy residents have fled their homes in fear, taking their disposable income and tax dollars with them. De Blasio waved them off, calling them 'fair weather friends' who will be replaced. 'We call 311 so many times and they don't come,' said Sam Fernando, a worker at 725 Video. 'They block the door. I ask them nicely to move and they want to fight,' he told the paper. They harass the customers. How can you do business in an environment like this?' Some have constructing makeshift shelters out of flower pots, plastic gates or shopping carts. Others have claimed doorways to sleep in as their own. With an estimated 500,000 people having left the city since the pandemic begun, abandoned furniture abounds, and homeless people have crafted their own shelters. Richard Charlton, owner of Sixth Avenue's A+ Access Locksmith, agreed that it was harming his business. 'I have a lot of customers that complain,' he told the paper. 'They don't want to come down this block.' He said the homeless people begun arriving when the area was shuttered due to the pandemic, and 'never left'. 'They just kept on coming,' he said. (More at above url)
'This is a tragedy': Forty-nine people shot over 72 hours in New York City https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/this-is-a-tragedy-forty-nine-people-shot-over-72-hours-in-new-york-city Nearly 50 people were shot over a 72-hour span in New York City this weekend. Between Thursday and Saturday, 49 people were shot in the largest city in the United States, as the uptick in gun violence continues this summer, according to the Gothamist. The number of those shot over the three days is five times more than the eight who were shot during the same days last year. At least six people were killed by gunshot wounds over the 72 hours, compared to three homicides that took place during the same time last year. There have been 1,087 shooting victims so far this year in 888 different incidents throughout the city. Last year at this time, there had been 577 shooting victims in 488 incidents in New York City, according to the Gothamist. (More at above url)
New York City is ‘dead forever,’ according to this proud native New Yorker https://www.marketwatch.com/story/n...cording-to-one-lifelong-new-yorker-2020-08-16
Last good friend living in NYC put his place up for sale last week. He's moving to Delaware (why Delaware I have no idea, but whatever). He's had it. Said his neighbor's car was broken in to, found a transient sleeping in his entryway, and his kid almost picked up a syringe that was on the street in front of his house. Asked me why he paid all those taxes. I told him I had been wondering that for years.
Very sad. That said, the people who live there have a choice. If they're not actively trying to get rid of DeBlasio, then they're just BMWing and they can STFU. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nyc-dead-forever-heres-why-james-altucher/
We need someone to run for mayor who will save New York https://nypost.com/2020/08/16/we-need-someone-to-run-for-mayor-who-will-save-new-york/ There’s no denying it: The city’s in trouble. Big trouble. Mayor Bill de Blasio is now a lame-duck figurehead, with less than 1½ years left in office. And the crop of candidates looking to replace him is anything but promising. New York needs fresh blood. So today we’re asking — pleading, actually: Won’t anyone step up and save New York? COVID, the anti-police rioting and the crime wave have delivered powerful blows to the city. They created terror on the streets, socked businesses, wrecked city finances, crippled schooling — and sent people scurrying for the exits. Even before the virus hit, pols like de Blasio (with help from Albany) had left Gotham on shaky ground, with “reforms” that ensured more crime, vagrants swamping the streets and a budget that failed to prepare for even a modest downturn, let alone one shut by the bug. Alas, at the moment, there’s no one on the horizon looking to replace him who’ll offer anything but more of the same. Or worse. After the city’s brush with near-bankruptcy in the ’70s, Mayor Ed Koch guided the city back to a more solid fiscal footing. In the ’90s, Mayor Rudy Giuliani proved the city was governable after all, and restored it to its former glory. He and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton cracked down on low-level offenses and rolled back two decades of rising crime. By the beginning of the de Blasio era, the murder rate had fallen by nearly 90 percent. Today, Gotham is plummeting at warp speed — yet it’s eminently saveable. These ideas from city experts point the way. Start with public safety, which, as Bratton notes, is “the first obligation of government.” The next leader needs a plan to restore the low levels of crime of just a few years ago and ensure people feel safe. How? By cracking down on guns, backing cops and giving them the resources they need to rein in the madness. Nicole Gelinas urges attention to the “little things,” the quality-of-life issues that matter so much. Policing minor offenses, the “broken windows,” shows that a city cares. As for finances, fiscal guru E.J. McMahon has sensible suggestions to make ends meet amid catastrophic drops in revenue. Mitchell Moss calls for a new marketing campaign for the city. Ian Rowe urges an expansion of school choice. By contrast, not one of the people thought likely to run for mayor at this point seems ready to embrace such vital solutions. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson was MIA as looters and anarchists hijacked peaceful protests and derelicts stoned cops and turned City Hall Park into a homeless encampment. Instead, he insisted on cutting funds for cops. At the council, he whisked through one anti-cop “reform” after another. He smiled while de Blasio bloated city spending nearly 30 percent over the years. City Comptroller Scott Stringer is another sure mayoral wannabe. Yet how can someone whose job it is to oversee the budget run the whole city after allowing its finances to become so vulnerable? He, too, has been mum on the surge in violence. And he backed radical Tiffany Caban in last year’s Queens DA race, which tells you all you need to know. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams hasn’t offered any major policy solutions either, focusing instead on soft issues like biking and dieting. Maya Wiley, 57, a #Defund advocate, served as de Blasio’s lawyer, so don’t expect major improvements from her. Who, then, will save New York? Surely, there’s someone out there — in a city of 8.5 million, brimming with talent. Perhaps it’ll be someone who’s proven himself in one key area — say, Ray Kelly, who, as police boss, drove down crime for 12 years and protected the city from terror after 9/11. Or maybe someone like Queens’ Robert Holden, one of the city’s rare sensible councilmen. Or a moderate-minded ex-lawmaker, like Peter Vallone. Maybe it’ll be a figure from outside the political world entirely, like Wall Street whiz Ray McGuire, the black Citigroup honcho who’s already shown interest in running. Or maybe someone no one would ever guess. Chances are, whoever steps up will be far and away better for the city than any of the current has-been wannabes. Whoever it is, though, it’s not too soon to step up. Indeed, if ever there were a time Gotham needed a hero, this is it.