SANDRA SMITH: While he is demanding more from the wealthy, they are leaving. Look who’s leaving now. Married families, high earners, middle class and those that are arriving, those single filers come and younger residents, a budget like his will not be sustainable.
If you are chasing those higher earners and hard working married families out of the city? This is a New York Post headline, Rosanna, you’re probably familiar with it. You hear the discussions out there about high rent.
He’s just addressing the affordability crisis. “New York City housing crisis hits def con one as rent jumps to more all time highs.” So while all this is happening the city is still incredibly unaffordable.
ROSANNA SCOTTO: You know what, where else can you go in a big city where it is affordable? Los Angeles, is it affordable? What about Europe? Is Paris affordable? London? Are we putting too much pressure on New York to be affordable?
Not everybody can live here. Maybe you’ve got to think about outside of New York City. But the bottom line is at some point the mayor is going to have a reality check. He’s still saying that he is worried that the big earners are going to leave.
They are leaving. They are leaving. There is research that shows they are leaving and at some point he is going to see the fiscal reality and he’s going to have to adjust.
SMITH: What are people saying? You talk to people all the time. You are out and about. What are people really saying?
SCOTTO: I have a lot of friends who have left. They left during Covid and first they thought maybe I will come back. They are having a great time in Florida. They are saving a lot of money. They have a big network of friends there. And a lot of financial houses are moving there. Restaurants, you name it. They are building.
SMITH: They get to keep more of their money.
SCOTTO: Do they miss New York? They will come in for a weekend or two and leave. They don’t like the direction and they don’t want their hard-earned money being spent on things that they don’t believe in.