New York City - Shattered?!
This past weekend it was gloomy in NYC. Dark clouds and threatening storms were predicted... literally and figuratively. Especially if you read the NY Post or watch local news - you would think NYC was and is done for. Families departing en masse for the suburbs - rats on the west side, bed bugs uptown ...don’t you know the crime rate’s going up up up!
And yet...I had 10 showings Sunday...and a profound sense of a deja vu. When I was coming up from Manhattan in the 80's, just as many people seemed to say “how could you live there?†as “coolâ€.
New York WASNT for everyone. Blackouts, strikes, protests ...a mayor under siege...it was a stressful time.
Just like now.
But - just like the 80's—a strong amount of believers are doubling down in New York this summer. They seem to know NYC is imperfect and singular in equal measure. We are under performing now (who isn’t!?) but also are very much alive and kicking. You see beauty every day, if you know where and how to look. The beauty is in the architecture, in the the art that is being created and as always in the sweep of scale and energy that defines the people who choose to live in this city.
No one really knows what will happen next. For some, they think they are getting out just in time. Others are betting that they are buying/renting at a perfect time and at a remarkable discount.
One thing is for sure - New York will change...it always changes. It’s one enormous wave breaking off here and there, reforming constantly, gathering power and always rollicking to shore. Just to start again.
It’s up to you if you want to ride it, or head back to the beach or the cabana.
For today at least, I’m diving in.