Blue city blues

Betsy McCaughey on NYC: Taxpayers are leaving while migrants are flooding in

Eric Adams is trying to con us into believing New York City is "thriving." Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but we're not wearing rose-colored glasses.

On Sunday, Adams spoke at a brunch for New York Sun supporters at The American Hotel in tony Sag Harbor, New York. He said, "The city is not coming back. We're back back."

Apparently, he thinks his job is public relations, not actually solving the city's problems.

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A Siena College poll shows more New York state voters disapprove than approve of Adams' response to the migrant crisis. So, what does the mayor do?

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Last week, he launched a highly coordinated social media campaign, requiring more than 20 city agencies to tweet out a message applauding New York City's welcoming of migrants. "New York remains a beacon for all who come to our shores," one of the posts read.

The propaganda blitz, paid for by tax dollars, praises the "brave New Yorkers ready to help," including the mayor, of course. It's a slap in the face to New Yorkers already footing most of the bill for the crisis.

Adams dished more P.R. spin at Sunday's breakfast. Here's a taste:

Adams: "There's only two types of Americans – either you live in New York, or you wish you could."

Reality check: The city is going from Big Apple to shrunken apple, losing population massively. Some 400,000 people fled during 2020 and 2021, and in 2022, Manhattan was the only borough that did not lose population.

Worse, 158 financial firms have moved their headquarters out of New York City since 2019, taking nearly $1 trillion in managed assets with them.

Adams just returned from a whirlwind three-day trip to Israel, in part to attract business. Why not keep the businesses already here?

Last year, financial firms paid $5.4 billion in New York taxes, accounting for almost one-quarter of all personal income tax collections.

Taxpayers are leaving, and migrants who consume tax dollars are flooding in.

Adams: The media hype about crime in Times Square is "not the reality." He added, "People are out dining, dating, eating, enjoying the beauty of what this city has to offer."

Reality check: Times Square is overrun with junkies smoking crack pipes, drug dealers selling within view of cops, homeless people sprawled out and migrants loitering aimlessly.

In the last two years, major crime has skyrocketed 50% in the New York Police Department's Midtown South precinct, which includes Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Station and Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Adams: "There is no disorder," he insists. He claims the city feels safe and orderly.

Reality check: Petty crime, including shoplifting, is soaring.

The subways are what New York Post columnist Steve Cuozzo calls a "rolling lunatic asylum."

Car thefts, illegal drug dealing, and fare beating are out of control. The mayor should be empowering the newly appointed NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban to crack down on small crimes because these send a dangerous message that anything will be tolerated.

On the migrant crisis, Adams said the immediate remedy is "allowing people to work." He said, "They're professionals, they're writers, they're journalists, they're in medical professions. We have a shortage of nurses." Adams added, "We were given a gift, that we now need to manage that gift."

Reality check: That's crazy talk.

Instead of having the backbone to tell President Joe Biden to close the border, Adams and fellow Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul are using work authorization as a political default position.

Hochul claims there are roughly 460,000 job openings in New York state, more than enough for every migrant seeking work. All that's needed is for Biden to cut the red tape on work authorizations. The nutty assumption is that a migrant can fill any job.

Data on the latest newcomers are not available, but according to Pew Research Center, most migrants do not speak English and do not have higher education.

California needs farm workers. New York needs hospitality workers. But beyond that, job openings are in nursing, software development and computer support, per The Hechinger Report and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Migrants are not job-ready for these positions.

Finally, Adams confessed to the audience: "This is going to be a retrospectively appreciated administration."

Reality check: Meanwhile, New Yorkers suffer.

The progressive agenda – sanctuary status, tolerance for disorder, coddling criminals – is destroying New York, and sadly, many other blue cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.

Tell Mayor Adams to dispense with the P.R. No one is fooled. Start governing.

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