Over the years, plenty of singers and songwriters have looked to the Big Apple as musical muse.
Recently, Taylor Swift dedicated a track to the city, “Welcome to New York,” and there was Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” in 2009. While those were good, no song has stood the test of time quite like “New York, New York,” written in 1977 by Fred Ebb for Martin Scorsese’s film of the same name.
Two years later, the great Frank Sinatra recorded the famous version we all know today, and the song has remained the city’s anthem ever since.
“I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps.”
While NYC may be known as the city that never sleeps, COVID-19 put it down for a temporary nap. With restaurants, Broadway shows, and the typical bustling nightlife shuttered due to restrictions, the city never seemed so quiet.
Back to the Beginning – New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic. After the first case hit NYC on Feb. 29, 2020, new cases spiked quickly, and all eyes across America were glued to daily reports. The crisis was unfolding in front of our eyes, with NYC as the focal point.
The covers of the New York Post tell the story of the saga, from panic to vaccine and all the significant, momentous, and tumultuous events that took place in between.
The Details – NYC spent months in strict lockdown mode but is finally preparing for a full reopening. The following are highlights of the plans underway as the city springs back to life.
● The New York City subway resumed 24-hour per day service.
● Restaurants, bars, and other businesses reopened to full capacity on May 19.
● Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Broadway League announced that NYC Broadway shows would resume this September.
● 15,000 fans were allowed to pack Madison Square Garden for the Knicks' playoff game, and the Barclays Stadium opened to half capacity for the Brooklyn Nets’ games, with designated vaccinated and unvaccinated sections.
The pendulum has swung back to the direction of freedom, and it will not be long until New York is back to business as usual.
Top of the List – Simply put, the significance of the reopening of NYC is not just symbolic as the end of the pandemic in the U.S., but it’s also good for markets and the greater economy. Consider the following facts that represent the city’s 180-turnaround:
● An estimated 65 million people visited NYC in 2019.
● The GDP of New York is the largest in America, which was $1.5 trillion in 2019.
● An estimated 4.6 million people work in the New York area[CC1] .
● There were approximately 23,000 restaurants and bars in the NYC area before the pandemic.
The city packs a large economic impact. Its reopening will set the example for other large American cities and around the world to jump back into a much-needed economic rebound.
The Conclusion – We don’t have to look further than the NBA Playoffs to see NYC and the country are again open for business. The city went from the epicenter of lockdowns to allowing up to 75% capacity in both Madison Square Garden and Barclays Stadium, both vaccinated and unvaccinated standing shoulder-to-shoulder, yelling at the top of their lungs and high-fiving. New Yorkers know it’s time to get out of the house and start spending again. The rest of the world is watching and will follow.
We still do not understand how lockdowns and masks became a political event, but it appears the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and the country is moving forward. The stock market will take notice, and a rebound in jobs and GDP will tell the story in dollars.
“Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York”
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