NYC’s mass COVID-19 exodus cost $34B in lost income, study says
NY post ^ | December 15, 2020
Posted on 12/15/2020, 2:40:25
The mass exodus from New York City amid the COVID-19 crisis has cost $34 billion in lost income, according to a new study released Tuesday.
About 3.57 million people fled New York City between Jan. 1 and Dec. 7 this year — and they were replaced by some 3.5 million people earning lower average incomes, the findings from Unacast said.
That means the Big Apple lost a net 70,000 people during the pandemic.
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Tribeca, population 20,000, took the biggest hit out of the three — with a net loss of 3,500 residents — equaling a net income loss of $1 billion.
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In Williamsburg, home to about 80,000, some 19,000 people moved out by Sept. 7, representing a loss of $1.3 billion income — “one of the hardest-hit individual NYC neighborhoods we examined,”
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“That is a great deal of forfeited discretionary spending in a small community with many local brands that currently show little sign of resilience or recovery,
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There was 33 percent less retail foot traffic compared to last year and 34 percent fewer people in restaurants.
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net outflow in city neighborhood populations everywhere, coupled with a reduction in average income and therefore reduced buying power,” it said.
Unacast’s analysis comes after apartment vacancies in Manhattan hit a 14-year high last month, with more than 16,000 spaces empty.
“The big question is, ‘How does real estate and retail in particular adapt to that?
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
