The Day New York Died

I am a born in New York City entrepreneur. 

But I don’t know what New York is anymore. 

I started my first business on NY’s streets, opening a Christmas tree store at the age of 15. 

I worked 18 hour days, broke even financially, but gained more knowledge about capitalism that one can scoring a Harvard MBA. 

A year later, I sold magazines in NY’s most distressed and violent neighborhoods. 

I was poor and broke but ambitious, and determined to make a life for myself in the rubble of a broken family. 

New York gave me the only thing that I wanted:benign neglect. It left me alone, to my own wits and devices, to build businesses, give opportunities to others, support the community and. be an advocate for bottom up success. 

I paid no attention to teachers or politicians: I just listened to the sounds of New York. The profoundly wise streets of New York  

Now they’re silent!