A New York City venture capitalist has hit back at critics who say the Big Apple will never be able to return to its former glory after th...
A New York City venture capitalist has hit back at critics who say the Big Apple will never be able to return to its former glory after the coronavirus pandemic, saying the crisis is actually helping weed out residents who don't want to invest in 'a better NYC.'
Fred Wilson, the co-founder of Union Square Ventures, has painted an optimistic picture for what's to come in New York, despite the recent wave of crime, homelessness and violence that has plagued the five boroughs amid a devastating pandemic.
In a post published on his blog AVC on Tuesday, Wilson said he believes the current state of affairs will allow the city to undergo the transformation it needs, noting that it 'has sucked for the last decade or more.'
The blog comes days after businessman James Altrucher weighed in on the issue in his own post, in which he predicted the city won't 'bounce back' because its business opportunities, culture and food scene have been wiped out.
New York City has suffered a tumultuous five months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March - when it became the epicenter of the deadly outbreak
Coronavirus cases in New York City have drastically declined in recent months, but the Big Apple has since seen a rise in crime, homelessness and violence
Homeless people in New York City on August 17. Some residents say they no longer want to stay in New York because the homeless population is growing and becoming more aggressive
Ramshackle encampments have popped up all over the city in recent months
New York City has suffered a tumultuous five months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, during which it became the epicenter of the deadly outbreak and nearly 800 people were dying in the state every day.
While the number of cases has significantly declined since, and the city has made strides in its reopening plans, it has also seen many of its residents pack up and move to cheaper and smaller suburbs, as businesses flounder and crime rates increase.
The city is also experiencing a rise in homelessness, with rough-sleepers and drug addicts seen setting up encampments on the streets of Midtown Manhattan and shooting up in broad daylight.
Wilson however, says that while the city won't be the same as it was before the outbreak, he doesn't believe it is 'going out of business' as others have claimed.
'It is certainly the case that many talented people are leaving NYC right now. It is also the case that the city is suffering from rising crime, filth, etc,' he writes.
'NYC is not going out of business. It will need a turnaround. It will need new leadership, which it will get. The pandemic will end. Restaurants, museums, broadway, nightclubs, etc, etc, etc will re-open.
The homeless have used furniture and junk abandoned by wealthy people fleeing the city during the pandemic to build a sidewalk camp
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week he will turf 13,000 homeless people out of Manhattan hotels and back into shelters as New Yorkers complained that the city is becoming a shanty town
As shootings spiral, there is also a growing homeless problem with encampments popping up all over Manhattan. 13,000 homeless people have also been moved into hotels around the city
'It won't be the same NYC that existed pre-pandemic. But that is a good thing. NYC has sucked for the last decade or more,' he added.
The 58-year-old said the grim circumstances will give rise to an opportunity to create a 'better NYC'; one that is more affordable and 'environmentally sustainable.'
'Many people who can will leave forever. Rents will be lower (maybe a lot lower). Artists will be able to live in NYC again,' Wilson writes.
'We have the opportunity to reimagine what NYC is. We can reimagine transportation, schools, policing, housing, construction.
'We can create an environmentally sustainable NYC. We can create an affordable NYC. We can create a better NYC.
James Altrucher, who co-owns a comedy club in the city and also describes himself as an angel investor and author, is among the many who have fled. He is convinced the city will never recover
'But the first thing that has to happen is we need all the people who are afraid of all of this change to leave so those who are left can come together and create this better NYC. And thankfully that is happening,' he added.
Wilson, who began his career as a venture capitalist in 1986, publishes posts on his blog, 'AVC: musings of a VC in NYC' daily, describing it as his 'diary where I think things through "out loud".'
The MIT and Wharton School graduate previously ran Flatiron Partners, an investment fund involved in a number of website startups, including Kozmo.com, The New York Times Digital, and VitaminShoppe.com.
The firm later shut down in 2001 and Wilson founded Union Square Ventures three years later.
Wilson's take on the issue is a stark contrast to that of Altrucher, who said the rise in crime, change in culture, and switch to remote working, means there's nothing keeping people in the city anymore.
Altrucher, who co-owns a comedy club in the city and also describes himself as an angel investor and author, is among the many who have fled New York City.
He and his family fled to Miami after the June riots and looting made them fear for their and their children's safety, when people tried to break into his apartment building.
He explained that unlike in previous times of crisis like 9/11 or the crime wave of the 70s, there is nothing bringing people back now because everyone can work remotely.
'Even in the 1970s, and through the ’80s, when NYC was going bankrupt, even when it was the crime capital of the U.S. or close to it, it was still the capital of the business world (meaning, it was the primary place young people would go to build wealth and find opportunity,' he wrote in his blog.
In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising
Shootings in New York City have nearly doubled in the past year, and there has been a nearly 30% increase in murders
'It was culturally on top of its game — home to artists, theater, media, advertising, publishing. And it was probably the food capital of the U.S.
'NYC has never been locked down for five months. Not in any pandemic, war, financial crisis, never', he wrote.
Altrucher also cited a Facebook group where residents aired their concerns about homelessness and crime.
He said he was not tempted to leave the city until June, when riots and looting took over the city for a week.
'Nothing was wrong with the protests but I was a little nervous when I saw videos of rioters after curfew trying to break into my building,' he wrote.
Residents have complained over issues of 'quality of life' from those living in the neighborhoods affected
New York authorities are to begin the process of moving homeless people who are currently staying in hotels back to shelters, but some are calling for more long-term solutions to the city's homeless crisis
He has now moved with his family to south Florida and is unsure if they'll come back.
It comes as recent data showed shootings across New York City have increased by 82 percent year to date, and murders are up by 30 percent in another startling indication of how crime is taking over the city.
The NYPD released figures on Monday for the week of 8/10/2020 through 8/16/2020 which paint a worrying picture of how the situation in New York is growing increasingly hostile.
Year to date, shootings are up 82.1 percent, murders are up 30.2 percent, burglaries are up 43.3 percent and car theft is up 58.7 percent.
This week compared to this week last year is even worse; shootings are up 142 percent, murders are up 40 percent, rape is up 11.1 percent and car theft is up 71.9 percent.
Year to date, crime is down by 2.7 percent but compared to this week last year, it is up by 2.0 percent.
New York City is also experiencing issues with drug addicts who have been seen shooting up in broad daylight in Manhattan neighborhoods.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the once bustling area at the heart of the Big Apple has emptied of office workers rushing to and from meetings and tourists snapping photos of sparking skyscrapers.
They've now been replaced with people down on their luck, many of them struggling with drug addiction, who have come to call that stretch of Broadway 'home'.
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