New York is no longer “the city that never sleeps”: crime and lack of personnel have forced businesses that were open 24 hours to close
“I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps…”, says the famous song New York, New York by Fred Ebb in reference to the many activities that could be done 24 hours a day in the most populated city in the United States, especially in restaurants, bares, convenience stores and tourist bazaars.
But since the pandemic, many businesses that never closed are already doing so. The basic reasons are crime in the streets and Metro – exacerbated by the penal reform and homelessness – and the lack of personnel, according to experts. Another factor is the loss of population in Manhattan, thanks to the hybrid work option.
“More bars and restaurants are closing their doors at earlier hours.” summarized The New York Times this week. Even iconographic USPS mail stations once open 24 hours now close to prevent homelessness.
Food writer Rachel Sugar says that the new “rush hour” in restaurants is 6 pm, two hours earlier than usual. There’s also many more people ordering food at home than before. Consequently, electric bikes are currently the livelihood engine of at least 65,000 delivery people in NYC.
Certainly some neighborhoods are more active than others, but even in the world’s tourist mecca Times Square something typical like Grabbing a drink or eating on the way out of a Broadway play or movie has become complicated.
For many residents and tourists accustomed to a city that worked 24 hours like your Metro in all five boroughs, earlier closing times can be bewildering and frustrating. The most experienced know that the old night scene in the city center has been transformed and migrated to other areas, but there is no guarantee of finding options open until late like before.
Most of the cinemas and bars are closing before or around midnight, and kitchens much earlier. Also the cocktails now usually start at 5 or 6 pm
Places like “L’Express French Bistro” on Park Ave. South it had been operating 24 hours a day since it opened 25 years ago. It now closes at 11pm Sunday through Thursday and 2am Friday and Saturday. “The main reason is that we are a little concerned about the safety of the employees who are going home,” he told Fox News the manager, Hugo Rodríguez. Curiously, its neighbor “Morton Williams” is one of the few supermarkets in NYC that is still open 24 hours.
“Wo Hop” in Chinatown used to be open until 4:30 am and now closes at 10 pm Few restaurant bars like “JG Melon” (Midtown East) are open until 3 am six nights a week and the legendary “Katz’s Delicatessen” in Chinatown. The bustling, bohemian Lower East Side now only operates 24 hours on Saturday, meaning it’s open straight from 8am Friday to 11pm Sunday. Other areas with a higher nighttime operating margin are West Village (Manhattan) and Williamsburg (Brooklyn).
Kathryn Wylde, of the Partnership for New York City (PFNYC) business group, admits that safety is a pervasive problem for workers. “We have seen difficulties getting employees and customers to come to work 24/7. People are more nervous about security conditions at night.”
The pandemic, the anti-police climate, and penal reform have been identified as factors that have triggered crime in NYC, particularly robberies in stores, pharmacies, and warehouses.
Additionally, the violence and indigence in the Metro, the main means of transportation in NYC because it covers the entire city 24 hours a day. Mayor Eric Adams, whose election campaign focused on public safety, has announced several measures to make the subway safer, including deploying more police officers to stations and cars. But until now crime is on the rise.
Adams, whose election campaign focused on public safety, has announced several measures to make the subway safer, including deploying more police officers to stations and cars. But until now crime is on the rise.
In addition to crime, traffic accidents have been another big challenge for the new Mayor Adams. New York City had already experienced in April a 35% increase in traffic accidents, especially at night, alerted NYPD. At the end of that month there was a tragic streak to an average of one person killed by being run over every day.
