Editorial
Solving the riddle of empty subways
Not long after the fi rst COVID-19
case hit New York City nearly a
year ago, subway ridership started
to tumble.
At the height of the crisis, when most New
Yorkers were sheltering in place, ridership
had fallen by 90%. But as virus cases began
to fall, some commuters began returning to
the system — but not nearly at the pace that
the MTA wants.
Today, subway ridership is about 30-40%
of what it was pre-pandemic. Some believe
this is symptomatic of greater problems
within the subway system — from unfounded
rumors about the spread of COVID-19
within the subway system, to repeated
reports about a rise in violent crime.
These may be contributing factors to the
ongoing decrease in subway ridership, as
these reports might scare people away from
the system. But then again, the question
of why ridership is down may be defi ned
through Occam’s razor — that the simplest
answer is usually the correct one.
Why would people take a subway if there’s
nowhere to go? Think about it. Most offi ces
are still closed, and most non-essential workers
are still working from home.
Most major venues like Broadway theaters
and sports arenas have been closed for
months. Some of these places, like Madison
Square Garden and Barclays Center, are
getting the green light to reopen at 10% of
their normal capacity; Broadway will remain
dark till late May, at the earliest.
Most restaurants will be operating indoor
dining at up to 35% capacity, as of this coming
Friday. That’s still way off from their normal
patronage — and that means more New Yorkers,
especially in this cold, snowy winter, are
eating at home rather than dining outside.
The good news for the MTA, and the city’s
economy, is that this situation will not be
forever. The COVID-19 vaccine is making
the rounds, and the virus’ spread is beginning
to fall — hopefully once and for all.
The day will come when New Yorkers
will be out and about again — commuting
to work, dining at restaurants, taking in a
musical on Broadway or watching the Knicks
pursue a playoff spot in person at the Garden.
And when that day comes, people are going
to head back underground because the
subway, for all its faults, remains the fastest
and cheapest way to get around town.
New Yorkers will not allow fears of infectious
disease and crime turn into a selffulfi
lling prophecy of doom for our subways.
Op-ed
New data underscores
why keeping retail open
is the right decision
BY TIFFANY JOY MURCHISON
As a small business owner in New
York, I have been dealt a twin blow
of a health and economic crisis.
While the fi rst COVID-19 vaccinations
have been administered in New York, the
virus will still remain a concern for many
families as we wait for the vaccine to become
more widely available. Until then, we
will need an approach that both contains
any further spread of COVID-19 while
also permitting those businesses that can
operate safely to keep their doors open and
help New Yorkers stay securely employed.
Since the pandemic fi rst gripped our
state in March, health experts have learned
a lot about COVID-19 and what each of
us can do to prevent its spread in our
communities. Through my work with the
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the
NYC MWBE Alliance, I have witnessed
how our businesses have managed to keep
in lockstep with health guidelines in order
to safely reopen to customers and protect
the jobs of countless workers across New
York.
Retail businesses in particular have done
this to great effect. They implemented
mask-wearing rules for customers and employees
early on, and combined this with
strict observation of social distancing and
capacity rules. Store owners across New
York also stepped up sanitization efforts in
order to further minimize the potential for
the spread of COVID-19 in their stores, often
at a great cost as we struggle to survive.
The complete economic closures in 2020
rattled New York’s business community,
and many small businesses had no choice
but to close for good. The loss of so many
businesses cut off income for hard-working
families across New York, which meant the
state had worse post-shutdown job losses
than nearly every other state in the U.S.
These losses weighed especially heavily on
hourly workers and minority communities,
who rely on the jobs local retail businesses
provide.
Business leaders are now warning that
a new shutdown would have a similar impact,
and it is one that would reverberate
throughout New York’s most vulnerable
communities. Shutting down businesses
that can stay open safely, like retail stores,
would effectively cut off a signifi cant
source of tax revenue that can be used to
fund the social programs that those who
have been hit hardest by the pandemic are
depending on to get by.
It is important that Governor Andrew
Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de
Blasio allow retail stores to remain open
when weighing how they should craft New
York’s ongoing measures to contain the
virus. New fi gures released by Governor
Cuomo’s offi ce indicate that nearly threequarters
of the recent cases in New York
have been spread at household gatherings,
while fewer than one percent of new cases
occurred at retail stores.
As we all await the end of the pandemic,
our leaders must be sure to craft a response
that utilizes what we have learned about
how the virus is spreading and which allows
the businesses that have been operating
safely to keep their doors open. It is
the smart path to follow, and one that will
mitigate the risk for this pandemic to wreak
further havoc on New York’s communities.
Tiffany Joy Murchison is the co-founder
and Vice Chair of the NYC MWBE Alliance.
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
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8 February 25, 2021 Schneps Media
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