Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday tried to blame President Donald Trump and the federal government for the ongoing f...
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday tried to blame President Donald Trump and the federal government for the ongoing fiscal crisis in New York City while still refusing to reopen the city and let people get back to work.
The pair refuse to reopen small businesses in New York City despite the number of coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations hitting all-time lows this week.
On Tuesday, 55 people were hospitalized in the city. There were 74 deaths across the entire state. But the city remains closed until further notice with few details being released about how and when it will reopen.
Commercial landlords are not collecting rent from retail tenants which is triggering an 'alarming' drop in tax revenue that could deplete essential public services and residential tenants are breaking their leases to flee the Big Apple.
A chorus of small businesses have spoken out against de Blasio and Cuomo for holding them 'prisoner' by not allowing them to do business while Costco, Walmart and Home Depot, for example, have been able to throughout the pandemic. They plan to start reopening next week and say they are consulting a lawyer about their legal rights.
On Wednesday, de Blasio - who is still collecting more than $9,000 a month in rent from three properties in Park Slope on top of his $258,000 mayor's salary - said he would 'aggressively' shut them down. He blamed the city's 'fiscal crisis' on Trump and complained that there was 'literally no timeline' on when he might see some financial help from the government.
Gov. Cuomo echoed his complaints. After a meeting at the White House with Trump, he held a press conference to say the federal government had a 'role to play' in reviving the economy and that New York deserved more money from in the next stimulus bill. Cuomo is focused on recharging the economy by fast-tracking projects like the new LaGuardia Airport and an overhaul of Penn Station.
Both Andrew Cuomo and Bill De Blasio are refusing to reopen NYC and let people get back to work but are demanding money from the federal government for the services they run. On Wednesday de Blasio said it was Trump's fault that NYC had lost $9billion and Cuomo demanded more money in the next stimulus bill for government-run services
Their impatience for a bailout from Trump echoed the growing frustration of hundreds of business owners who are waiting for them to tell them they can make their own money again.
De Blasio shrugged the responsibility of getting them back to work.
'We are now in a fiscal crisis, it's not the fault of anyone in the five boroughs.
'We didn't ask for the coronavirus. Here we are once again waiting for action.
'There's literally no schedule for the 4th stimulus bill to be voted on.
'That would help New Yorkers get back on their feet,' he said, ignoring the calls of many business leaders who say getting back on their feet will happen by going back to work.
De Blasio admitted that the number of hospitalizations was 'very good news' but claimed the city still was not ready to reopen.
On March 30, the worst day for hospitalizations, 1,693 people were admitted across the city.
Across the entire state of New York, 74 people died on Tuesday.
De Blasio claims to have spoken to business leaders who are 'hanging on' and accept not being able to get back to normal operations for months.
On Wednesday he said he'd spoken with his large business leader council on Tuesday night and that everyone was 'optimistic'.
But when informed about Re-Open New York, the coalition of 300 small businesses that all plan to reopen, he said he'd stop them.
'Anybody who reopens in defiance with orders of course we're going to enforce and if we have to we'll do summonses, get a commissioner's order and the place will not be allowed to reopen in any way shape or form.
'If people jump the gun and don't follow the rules that's the best way to guarantee we don't get to our reopening.
'We're going to enforce it and we're going to enforce it aggressively,' he said.
Later he said he didn't want to be 'heavy handed'.
'We're not trying to be heavy handed we're just trying to be present. Each agency designated for a certain type of business will go out and communicate with those businesses but once they start... inspections as per usual... we're going to again have the spirit of we want to make it work, we want them to succeed
'It's going to be light touch and a of communication and problem solving focused. We don't want to penalize we want to fix problems,' he said.
Bruce Backman, the spokesman for the coalition, responded angrily.
'When did the Mayor become a stooge of Wall Street? The NYSE opened yesterday. Why is Wall St taking precedence over Main St? Why didn't they send down a summons to shut down Wall St?
'They are able to operate remotely - we're not. They have a lot more money than we do. We represent tens of thousands of people... the mayor is attacking us.
'He is targeting our businesses, our communities and our families. Let the mayor go pick on somebody his own size. We're not scared... we're ready to go to court. We'll do what we need to do it, he told DailyMail.com.
It's unclear which agency will be tasked with policing how curbside retailers, which can reopen in phase one.
The NYPD has been called to shut down funerals and Yeshivas in Brooklyn that operated without permission.
Only 63 people were hospitalized in New York City on Monday which is fewer than a 10th of when the lockdown began and 55 were hospitalized were hospitalized on Tuesday
80 percent of one landlord's retail tenants failed to pay rent in April and May because the shutdown crippled business
Restaurants have been strangled by the lockdown and it's unclear how many will be able to reopen even once they're allowed to
Staten Island restaurateurs Max Calicchio and Alison Marchese (left) and an employee from Aunt Butchie's (right). They are all begging the local government to let them start making money again
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo walks towards the West Wing as he arrives at the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. He is there to discuss fast-tracking infrastructure improvements like airport expansion and train station work that he says he wants to do now while fewer people are moving around. He said on Tuesday: 'There is no better time to build than right now. You need to create jobs and you need to renew and repair this country’s economy and its infrastructure.' The governor said the state will fast-track infrastructure projects like the renovation and rebuild of Penn Station and LaGuardia Airport
De Blasio also claimed he was 'confident' many small businesses would be able to return no matter how long the lockdown goes on.
'So many businesses have been thrown for a loop but I'm hearing the vast majority want to come back and believe they can... small business owners are incredible resilient.
'I don't want to count them out yet.
'I'm confident a lot of businesses are going to find a way back,' he said.
He added his belief that there is a 'lot of pent up demand' that will 'explode' when consumers are finally able to spend money again.
His comments fly in the face of what small business owners are actually saying.
'The mayor’s policies are crushing our businesses, but even worse they are destroying New York.
'We the small business owners and worker, who are the lifeblood of the city’s economy and its dreams for the future are pleading with him to trust us to open our businesses safely, before it is too late.
'These policies are counterproductive, cruel and they are indiscriminately targeting our working and middle classes.
'They are exacerbating the gap between rich and poor,' Backman told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
Last week, de Blasio claimed businesses could 'hang on' for a few more months.
In an interview with WNYC radio on Friday, de Blasio claimed: 'I’ve talked to lots and lots of business leaders, especially the smallest businesses.
'They’re very worried about their futures understandably, but they also are hanging on and they know it can be a matter of months until they’ll be back in action.'
The remark has been met with outrage by small business owners who say they are barely still surviving.
They blasted de Blasio as a 'liar', while Senator Simcha Felder, the Democratic State Senator for New York's 17th District, said: 'Small business owners are bleeding and dying.
'I have yet to hear the Mayor's explanation. Small businesses cannot last another day let alone 6 months.
'Maybe if I was renting out 2 Park Slope homes I'd understand.
De Blasio owns two homes in Park Slope which he rents out for more than $100,000 a year while he and his wife live for free in Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side.
He is still collecting rent from his tenants, saying they were employed and able to pay their rent.
'Out of all the things that have come out of his mouth, this is the most outrageous.
'He lives in a de Blasio land. That is the furthest thing from the truth. He is not in touch with reality and all he has to do is walk down a commercial corridor to understand what is happening to our small businesses.
'He is setting up the city for failure. He’s going to leave City Hall in the worse condition that this city has experienced since World War II and the Great Depression,' councilman Mark Gjonaj told The New York Post.
De Blasio and Cuomo refuse to address why New York City cannot reopen yet despite mounting losses in the commercial sector.
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