Even a year ago the chatter around New York evoked a rotten apple, with rats and crime gnawing at the reputation of the world’s premier city. Millionaires were moving in droves to more business-friendly places like Miami. Foreigners were staying away, repelled by the agenda of the hometown president, Donald Trump. Now we’re having a summer for the ages.
I’ve lived here for 25 years and can’t remember more energetic buzz. It started with New York Knicks winning the National Basketball Association title for the first time in over half a century, with a disarmingly blue-collar roster. Then came the best-attended World Cup ever, but the excitement goes deeper than great moments in sports. Tourists kept flooding in after Spain’s victory, if the crowds around Rockefeller Center are any indication.