It is likely no coincidence these stories showed up on the same sunny Sunday. The first is the New York Post reporting this story:
Fleet of moving trucks mark exodus from Manhattan’s troubled Upper West Side
Helpfully, the article adds "It’s a progressive, liberal neighborhood" and reports Mayor De Blasio has housed homeless addicts and crazies in hotels there, about which the residents are not amused.
The second story is this report from the business publication Forbes:
Mayor Bill De Blasio Plans 22,000 Layoffs, As People Flee New York City In Droves
Jeepers, could these two items be related? As businesses closed due to the virus, tax revenue dropped. The number of layoffs cited would amount to roughly 7% of the city's 330,000 employees.
And then there is this headline in the Daily Mail (U.K.):
NYC and San Francisco housing markets drop off the covid cliff: Property prices fall and rentals lie empty as pandemic restrictions wreck both cities and buyers head for the exits
With regard to which, CNBC adds that SF home prices dropped last month after rising for 83 straight months.
The virus may create affordable housing in New York City. Here's a title and plot synopsis for a sci fi author looking to write a dystopian novel or screenplay: "Squatters in the Ruins."
I picture a commune eking out an existence and fighting off competing tribes while squatting in Black Rock, the abandoned former headquarters of CBS. Cinematically, think of aspects of the original Blade Runner moved to Gotham.
