NYC's reopening, but businesses aren't coming back

matrix.to/#/#rossmannrepair:matrix.org
I walked from 29th st to 19th st, 6th ave to 5th ave. Look at how many vacancies there are. This is insane.
My apologies for the shaky cam, I'm a horrible cameraperson.

[@OCPrunsthecops]

NYC is amazing. Everything is closed & rent is still $5K a month for a freakin' closet

[@jameelbilqis11]

That part🤣

[@mariusschmitt5855]

Thats not amazing .... its depressing

[@OCPrunsthecops]

@@mariusschmitt5855 it's sarcasm & yeah it is depressing as all hell

[@JohnDoe-vh4rt]

It must have something to do with the owners not wanting to “mark to market” their assets. If they lowered their lease rate to meet the market, it would force their accounting statements to show a big loss on the property, which could affect their ability to qualify for loans, or ability to attract investors, or otherwise. Big timers take out loans on their assets as a way to pay themselves an income without ever paying income tax or capital gains tax.

[@xenxander]

@@JohnDoe-vh4rt This exploit needs to be patched up.

[@TheJhn924]

The problem with the "circle of business" is that every closed store represents someone's lost hopes and dreams.... along with financial ruin in many cases.

[@DonnieDarko1]

🙏

[@rossmanngroup]

Sadly. I have experienced the feeling of grief that comes when a business you put your hopes and 12-16 hours of work a day into fails... it is horrible and never goes away.

[@mauro_o_cesar]

@@rossmanngroup yeah I feel you. And when you happen to fail right next to a pandemic, I feel like it will take me years just to put my head above water let alone keep it that way

[@zazaaziella16]

@@mauro_o_cesar This did not have to happen. It was DeBlasio and Cuomo's fault 100%.

[@sirlorddoctormajorphd3016]

Yet big businesses don’t have to worry they have a lot of bank facilities then lastly the fed bailouts

[@midknight9715]

"The students are high and the grades are low" why have I not heard this before? That's amazing

[@MoralKombato]

@fallen aspie zug zug

[@UmamiPapi]

@@MoralKombato Lok'tar ogar!

[@mrjohnnyk]

Sounds like my old high school

[@thrumyeyesphoto]

My neighborhood in LA looked even worse. Entire blocks of businesses closed, surrounded by filth and homeless people. Major cities are declining so quickly it's honestly scary. Very glad to be out of there!

[@tappaires6615]

Coming from a small town with ~20k inhabitants, I've never understood why anyone would want to live in a big city. Seems like everything is more inconventient, people are unhappy and there's too many of them, and all the noice, lack of nature etc is just depressing. (The flower setup at the outdoor dining just reminded me how important those small things are, and how much I actually appreciate having things like that in my home of origin). I moved to our country's capital for uni, and I've hated every day of it, because I just hate the city. But watching Louis' videos on new york, I am glad that our capital (500k inhabitants) is still relatively small in comparison. (Also the rents are just nuts. In the capital I can get a 1 room student apartment at 2x or a private at 3x (in a bad area) of the price of a privately rented 3-room home in the town I come from). Edit: Of course there's things like more efficient public transport. But in a small town I can take the bike, so there's no need for that.

[@brianwillis3892]

feels like the only guy making money is the guy making "For Lease" signs, lol

[@andrewr4220]

Oof

[@williams6550]

...and the people selling permits.

[@Eugenepanels]

Selling shovels lol

[@mrjohnnyk]

The people selling spray paint and trash bags

[@dominiquepruneda5825]

those people pay money in order for them to lease the property.

[@jacob1121]

"This place is beautiful!" Literally has a huge pile of garbage in front of it. I wonder why NY has a rat problem.

[@vanrosauch5659]

I agree but it's because it's part of the zodiac and we have live walking species who act like these creatures. So I understand But at the same time I like free pest control. Plus they made the ninja turtle movie. We need senseis.

[@jamesrawlins735]

Right before this mv I watched a Tokyo walk mv - the streets and sidewalks were spotless and its much more crowded. No excuse

[@johnlukach4091]

It's a shithole dump that's grossly overpriced

[@eddiepalomares7639]

The amount of trash is horrible.

[@Adonna2424]

@@johnlukach4091 was thinking of planning a trip there for the first time but after this, who the fuck would ever want to visit this? LOL shithole indeed.

[@Elmgren76]

I've been to NY a couple of times as a tourist and one thing that was really weird is the garbage handling. The hotel where I stayed it simply put all their garbage out on the street in the evening just next to the entrance. So every night when we came back to the hotel we were greeted by a huge pile of stinking garbage.

[@valiaudet3415]

The garbage is collected out front as there's no access in the rear

[@PengMIY]

built a long long time ago

[@tybarker5038]

I feel like there’s a metaphor in that somewhere

[@zoticus1]

Union protections ensure zero innovations

[@empresssk]

Good ol’ NY. Gross..

[@DrFaustVII]

Staples is staying open by supplying paper and printing all those building permits, leasing signs, and court notices.

[@LoserHands]

That's actually been a little boon for some printing places here LOL. Selling signs spacers placards, offering packages for those stores that are reopening etc.

[@EEVblog]

2:35 When I went to New York, the first thing I noticed was the smell, and all that garbage piled up.

[@emmetmyers]

Everybody says it smells it's basically trashed with too many people. I'm going to do myself a favor and never visit

[@katlicks]

You should see California, at least NYC's trash is bagged.

[@DenKonZenith]

I've spent twelve days of my life in cities. I've seen more trash; smelled more feces, rats, and cigarette smoke there than the other 36 years of my life.

[@mauro_o_cesar]

@@emmetmyers it does smell

[@richardwicks4190]

@@emmetmyers No, the sewer lines are poorly designed. It's always stank, always. In Manhattan, it's choking odor of sewage I smelled in the late 1990s. It's always been a gross, disgusting city. I couldn't see how ANYBODY could stand to live and work there. Ever been to the country and seen a healthy tree? Go to Central Park, and just TRY to find a healthy tree. They are all choking under the pollution and poison in the ground. The entire place ought to be razed. This is supposed to be America's "great city" - it's an embarrassment.

[@nocuh]

The emptiness of the streets is the most surreal thing about this video. It’s like a glitched video game where all the background npcs fail to load on certain blocks

[@KiraSlith]

Like a certain Cyberpunk game at launch. 😅

[@thelevelbeyondhuman]

hello hello fellow destiny fan. d.gg 4 lyf

[@annonymsurfer3189]

@@KiraSlith so it wasn't actually a bug , it was a feature 🤯

[@Kakerate2]

@@thelevelbeyondhuman Did Destiny say this?

[@jays3]

NYC will be cyberpunk 2077 when China buys out all these empty lots. NYteCity

[@hotshot619]

The hell I've been going though to get permits in NYC is no joke. I currently have a multimillion dollar job down town with 20 issued permits for 2 of the three sidewalks I need to work on. NYC DOT and NYSDOT disagree on how to tell people a sidewalk is closed so Ive been waiting for 3 months as they argue. Also they won't issue my 3 month long permits so I get to reapply and pay for 20+ new permits every month

[@hotshot619]

@Ex Life Probably in the future. ATM I'll commute to NYC make as much as I can then cut out as soon as I feel like it's not worth it anymore.

[@volvo09]

Yeah, why bother? So you can build your store and get it broken into? Wash urine off your door with a bucket of water every am? Let the city steal the rest of your wealth? What is good about the city? For real... To me this is just like volunteering to be tortured, or to pay to have the city throw water baloons of pee at you.

[@rossmanngroup]

I've been where you are and it is hell. They are incompetent and will drive you insane. Want to trade? You figure out what the rules are from this guy, I'll figure out your sidewalk. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5qbkGyNfNBmhc0

[@rogergriffin9893]

Maybe rent a storefront only intended as a place for people to drop off iPhones, Macs, etc. Then have another cheaper place outside the central district where you work on the stuff.

[@akoubek3]

Government IS The Problem, NYC needs to vote red or it will die a slow and painful death. Remember a blue body is a dead body while red is fresh with life

[@RedLink27]

That shop with the document out front dated July '83 is just freakin' awesome, as sad as it is. Bits and pieces of old New York are still out there hidden in plain sight.

[@eliaswitt9086]

9:03 for anyone wondering

[@ducknorris233]

The vaccine is so common Louis saw a guy vaccinating himself.

[@maximilianmustermann5763]

@Xi Jinping A shot of street-grade heroin is probably healthier than whatever Moderna or Pfizer put out there, so you can't blame the guy.

[@hnic3718]

# the real epidemic

[@rolandcucicea6006]

@@maximilianmustermann5763 I don't have the vaccine yet but my peers got vaccinated and they're all fine

[@pinesandtraplines]

@@rolandcucicea6006 Theres been no research into long-term effects, just the short-term. Some women have reported the vaccine causing abnormalities in their period timing, and some vax were recalled for blood clots. There were programs to rush the cov vax through testing to get it pushed to people.

[@wisdomleader85]

@Slim Jim Savage Not to mention the vaccines have already become less effective after the new variants of covid came out. There's already a high ratio of fatality among vaccinated people who were later infected by the Delta variant in Israel and UK.

[@GamePlague]

It would certainly be interesting to see inside that store thats been closed for almost 40 years

[@orangedream267]

Dude, I think that's an old machine shop distributor or service center. That's absolutely insane. I'd want to get in there to hopefully raid some of the old machines.

[@james5460]

There used to be a lot of construction-type businesses - for plumbers, electricians, hardware stores, etc. He probably had a good business selling to trades people until he retired and went to Florida. The entire area has changed since then and the trades people are mostly long gone.

[@Reno_Slim]

I'm picturing a fully evolved rat kingdom.

[@randylahey2242]

Wonder who is still paying property taxes on it all this time

[@DotDusk]

Who said that was 1983? In fact, that is 1883. They still have colonial artifacts inside.

[@EEVblog]

Louis, this is New York telling you this is an opportunity of life time, to open an entire chain of Rossmann Repair outputs, one on every corner. You'll be as rich as Jeff Bezos.

[@lethn2929]

Buy when there is blood in the streets

[@rossmanngroup]

This is an amazing idea.

[@ffirstllast3328]

No, people & business are leaving. This is a terrible sign, which is also why you don't see any other places opening! Geez

[@riopato2009]

@@rossmanngroup i denote a little sarcasm in your response. It's a great idea but with who's money? Get on that patreon now before Sonny steals that plan!!!

[@mauro_o_cesar]

Tô pay for it he would have to pay people to go around spilling water on random MacBooks

[@mr.behaving]

"they begged with a sign not to break in, but they broke in anyway" .. so not only is the local government hostile to business, it seems the local underbelly is as well. sad

[@AntiAtheismIsUnstoppable]

If noone does anything, the pendulum will swing towards dictatorship and tyranny. The pendulum is not objective. It has a bias to evil, as it is in the human nature to turn evil when they have nothing meaningful to do and believe in.

[@paullewis2413]

That´s NYC for you though its not alone.

[@sastrinidis]

When the mayor stands and supports domestic terrorism, that's what happens.

[@DanksterPaws]

@@AntiAtheismIsUnstoppable Reminds me of the video “and then we’ll be okay”

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

A group of American tourists was being guided through an ancient castle in Europe. "This place," the guide told them, "is 600 years old. Not a stone in it has been touched, nothing altered, nothing replaced in all those years." "Wow," said one woman dryly, "they must have the same landlord I have."

[@MarianKeller]

600 years is very recent for a castle, most are about 1000 years old.

[@MonroeYohey]

Did it have parquet flooring?

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

@@MonroeYohey All castle floors are covered in the blood of their enemies.

[@NotOnDrugs]

@@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse I mean, thats probably true to some extent. I would love to own one

[@tristan6509]

@@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse actually true, people built on top of other buildings after war instead of carrying away the rubble.

[@Surai00]

The real money looks to be in making signs that say "Entire Building for Lease"

[@khealer]

This here is a comment of true business acumen!

[@everythingasmr1601]

We sell shovels and scales, don’t care bout a gold rush

[@ShenronRage]

I can't get enough of these videos. We need to see more of this detached reality so that business owners, and people realize just how absurd all of this is.

[@Kali_Krause]

@khronosfateless Florida, maybe not. But California, most definitely is a shithole.

[@andrewe.2464]

@khronosfateless what about Chicago?

[@chriscalridge4616]

Looking at NYC from the Tappan Zee bridge, proves what the close-ups suggest: It is no longer the Big Apple, only the Land of Oz. Billionaires Row, dog piss smells, and homeless everywhere (2nd only to LA)

[@TheDro]

I used to live in NYC in the 80s and early 90s and thought it was trash back then but holy batman, seems like the piss smell and graffiti just overtakes it like bacteria consuming organic life.

[@GreenDriveIndia]

Scientifically graffiti increases crime rate

[@yomama3926]

Bacteria is good for your body

[@dwaynesbadchemicals]

It just got more corporatized and classist.

[@Aereto]

Signs of criminals is always graffiti.

[@dwaynesbadchemicals]

@@Aereto, so Banksy is a felon who is making millions on his graffiti?

[@beegchunguz7425]

DeBlasio: "NYC is open for business." NYC: Well yes, but actually no.

[@matthewmercury1]

If you're business is shooting up near midtown right in front of the NYPD, then yes.

[@luvbig41]

DeBlasio didn't create Covid-19.

[@beegchunguz7425]

@@luvbig41 No, but Cuomo did purge all the senior citizens.

[@luvbig41]

@@beegchunguz7425 No he didn't Covid-19 did.

[@dooner777]

@@luvbig41 his policies did, get your head out of the sand and turn the news off!!!

[@Algorand12345]

I work on 32nd and 6th. I take this walk every day and have seen it deteriorate over the past 10 years working around there. Victoria's Secret, Unqlo, Gap, Fossil, the entire Manhattan Mall.... all dead. We have terrible city leadership.

[@OCPrunsthecops]

oh, dude. I saw that too & I was so surprised to see that whole area just crap out. I did not expect those shops to close. It's all tourists so you'd think they'd stay open & take the hit for a while until things pick up again with tourists flying in & shopping but no. It's nuts.

[@riopato2009]

Yup and I guarantee these types of leaders will continue to be voted into office year after every voting year.

[@OCPrunsthecops]

@@riopato2009 it's the worst job ever. i think punching out GOD is easier than fixing the city, lolz

[@riopato2009]

@@OCPrunsthecops yeah you'd have to be insane to be willing to run this city.

[@hansonel]

Sad to see the detorioration of NYC but it started before COVID hit. As a former NYer I saw Greenwich Village go from vibrant to every other business being for lease over time despite the sidewalks packed with pedestrians and tourists. 8th Street and Hudson Street had so many for rent signs on empty storefronts since every other business was getting priced out it began looking blighted. Same thing on the UES with pockets of Madison Avenue from 59th to 86th suprisingly. This was back in 2016.

[@BluffCreekStudio]

"When Gotham is Ashes, You have my permission to die" --- Mayor DeBlasio

[@comtesayednajem7342]

😂

[@jonathanmcelveen1749]

@John Smith You can thank hooligans for pitching tantrums, and weak democratic governance for not keeping law and order.

[@jilianemorales2074]

@John Smith For me, it’s not NYPD (also I’m not a tourist), it’s the freakin’ drug addicts that harasses people. Stinking, high, homeless addicts. They’re not homeless because of lack of opportunities. They’re homeless because they choose to do drugs all day and all night. Typical Democrat run state.

[@MrKillswitch88]

Just a normal day in one of the nation's largest dead malls.

[@snowblow1984]

That's actually really well summarized.

[@TruePT]

🤣🤣🤣

[@michaeray2673]

I appreciate your insights and commentary about NYC business conditions. In today's culture, I no longer trust what I see or hear on traditional news. WIth your reports I feel I get honest and candid descriptions of what is really happening. Thank you for the walk about reporting, it is very interesting even though I am not a new yorker

[@rossmanngroup]

Thank you!

[@TheMoistpotato]

Exactly, Louis is doing everyone a favor by showing us a unbiased real view of what is actually going on. Even if you mute is commentary (dont lol), just the shear amount of empty spaces is a visual insight to the real situation. NY will probably be the first to topple, and the rest will follow. I cant wait to see the shit hit the fan here in Toronto, its long over due.

[@IncertusetNescio]

@@rossmanngroup It's simply fascinating to see what is happening to NYC in the past 2 years or so (back from now). The world got changed quite a bit in 2020 and many of those changes are only showing up a year or several later as things readjust or die off. NYC is a seemingly exaggerated example in part because of the scale. We are seeing, so far, both good and bad things changing. Labor having more power due to various kinds of shortages appears to be one, if small so far. Housing prices going up egregiously in my area is a less pleasant other. Waiting, like you, for that bubble to implode violently to something sane again. I don't know where you plan on fleeing to and setting up shop, if you can, but most anything is better than NYC.

[@Brent-jj6qi]

@@TheMoistpotato i was born, raised, and still live in Toronto, and it just needs to die.

[@fmagic2000able]

Louis: "That's not for you Sonny. Sonny, you're being a New Yorker!"

[@Yukeena]

LMFAO

[@spicemcbite6092]

Hahaha

[@questionmark9819]

I see similarities here in London, these huge bustling cities are dead now, it's all changed but now what?! It will be interesting to see what happens with these retail spaces etc now.

[@TheMrgrafixable]

hopefully something cool like vr arcades

[@perryfroze]

Seek the Lord and saviour Jesus Christ before it's too late. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Hell is real and Heaven is also real. You don't want to spend an eternity in Hell torment without God. The only way to escape Hell is to follow Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour. Study the KJV Bible to know more and pray and seek until you find Jesus. Don't delay tomorrow might be too late. You are not promised even the next minute. Do it now

[@XxMeatShakexX]

"Absolutely reeks of piss" (Name of realtor's literally Weiner.) There is no such thing as a coincidence.

[@awesomestrandy]

He marks his territory

[@mayatuck]

Why misuse "literally" all the time? Let me guess. A millennial.

[@varsityathlete9927]

'reeks of piss' realtor = a popular place for people to visit.

[@diamondminer81]

@@mayatuck Is the realtor's name not literally Weiner?

[@ItsNotAProblem]

_"The fact that you are watching this video means you are energetically aligned with me, and this message." _*_Death stare_*_ AAH_

[@thealphaomega1]

Looks like the scaffolding business in NYC is booming..

[@BigRedTower]

And they tie it all together with some oldass rope they found on the side of the road

[@stephenhunter70]

Yah maybe, and maybe most of it has been there for so long the building owners have forgotten who owns it, the scaffold owners have forgotten who rented it and where it actually is.

[@Mach141]

Its always like that. It was like that when I was last there 25 years ago, and at that time, the guy I was with, a local, told me it had always been then way as long as he remembered. So @Louis Rossmann , why are the streets of NYC permanently covered in scaffolding?

[@AFluffyMobius]

@@Mach141 From what i was told, it was because the landlords don't take care of the exterior of the building, so stuff would start of rot and fall and kill a pedestrian or two and get sued. So now we have all this scaffolding crap everywhere to make it seem like they are being taken care of / being repaired but its just a band-aid to stop stuff from falling onto people's heads.

[@firsty9354]

Great roof the homeless..

[@TheRedrider05]

“That space is beautiful!” *literal pile of garbage in front* Great standards, NYC.

[@gausscone]

12:40 for reference. Camera hangs on the pile of garbage so long I thought he was talking about that. I suppose it's just one kind of garbage humans live in.

[@Thelastdan]

instead of hiring more trash guys lets give my nephews cousins wife a cushy Director or Synergy Systems position with the city on 140k salary with full benefit and pensions ;)

[@rosspalumbo]

NY doesn't have allies to store trash. That's why there are piles of garbage in front of buildings. For more: /watch?v=VrSSUGCaVMc

[@_Circus_Clapped_]

@@Thelastdan I'd take that job if they offered more than politicians, I'd throw politicians in free of cost if you offered me that lol

[@stephenc2481]

people have so little respect for the place where they live and their neighbor's properties. What's up with the graffiti?

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

I have learned something! Yes. Your reasoning makes sense. This can not go on forever. Thank you any Sonny for the tour. It is sad that so many people have lost their hard earned businesses, employees, life savings and whatever collateral they had into it.

[@50sorrowC]

"We have relocated". It is common sense to point the customer to your new address. With no new address on that note, I doubt that they really relocated...

[@debbyolivier5122]

Seen it.They had more then 1 branch and closed this one and that count as relocated in business terms since the other store is still open xd.

[@KillinTime2792]

we have relocated, to another city.

[@whyisblue923taken]

Address: Somewhere else

[@SoupDumpling_]

"where the students are high and the grades are low" lmao

[@jc9109]

🤣👍💯

[@mike83ny]

It basically hasn't hit the "tipping point" yet. At some point, someone is going to get desperate to part with a building hemorrhaging money and they will sell at a loss. Someone will then buy the place and, in order to generate some kind of income, will advertise at a bargain rate. This will start the rush to find and provide bargains and the crash will start.

[@MessyPointedBlob]

That is far too rational for this market.

[@MrIllusiongamer12]

that only works if realtors dont have another source of income outside leasing

[@ariw9405]

Not in NY city there are too many vulture investors

[@riopato2009]

Not in NYC. Louis made it a point to note all the expired work permits involved and that's just to have renovations made on the space. This cost is on top of leasing that space not including all the lists of licenses just to run a business in NYC. Good luck finding any type of deal in real estate NYC. You find that you might come out even after 5 years.

[@MrNicoJac]

@Mike83ny: No they won't. Here's why you're wrong: You think that the owners of these buildings need to turn a profit. But they don't. Their owners can use the depreciation of the buildings to avoid paying any taxes on their stock profits. That's why the rents are kept SO insanely high - to inflate the real estate prices, which inflates the 'depreciation,' which maximizes their tax avoidance. It's crazy, but an empty building that's falling apart is actually how rich people RECEIVE *your* tax money from the government....! (tax law is totally not written by the rich for the rich🙄🤐😓)

[@Badbufon]

that moment when you realize the fabled NYC looks like just any other third world country

[@scottjones7279]

It has been smelling like a 3rd world country for years

[@franklin3271]

@@scottjones7279 😪 Truth

[@zalix512]

And it’s denizens a clear reflection.

[@mehrshadvr4]

Lmao have you ever been to a 3rd a 3rd world country before?

[@mehrshadvr4]

@JCT those are not 3rd world countries. Anyway. People voted for less government since the 80s. This is the results of that. U.S soon will be like Brazil. Brazil is a very rich country too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaW3lKObarqDnsk

[@catsspat]

Gov: "You need a permit to work." Also Gov: "Why don't people work?" Another Scooby-Doo Mystery.

[@jacobdrj101]

Permits are not inherently bad... But making it so expensive and slow and full of beaurocratic red tape is a disincentive to deal with it...

[@evensgrey]

You skipped the government giving people lots of money to not work.

[@vanderumd11]

@@evensgrey “lots of money”..... nothing close to what the bailout money billionaires got .. look at the bonuses those people still got. If your business sucks so much ppl don’t want to come back you need to change your business or so all the work yourself

[@evensgrey]

@@vanderumd11 Ah, spoken like a true trust-fund communist.

[@TheRealSpicySucc]

@@evensgrey spoken like a person who loves getting pegged by big corpo america

[@Congnitive_Dissenter]

Louis, I recommend you take a trip out to rural America.. this isn't just 'urban decay', this is the new normal... Urban areas are just catching up the to economic failure that small towns have been seeing for almost a decade, as stagnant wages, increased cost of living, and the 'investor' class driving small businesses out. Covid accelerated the change and the destruction of the middle class. But don't worry, big government and big business will ensure that the new serf class has broadband to consume the propaganda telling us how great the economy is.

[@ace-kz9id]

im out in mostly rual america and honestly just depends on the area and when the factorys left, my area there are lots of empty places but its cause covid rules fucked everyone over, pre covid my town was on the upswing

[@Account.for.Comment]

In America, when one area " decay" another growth. California had the highest net economic/population gains according to the latest data. Big Gov and big companies are many over there. When the North became rust belt, the South rose because factories from the north moved there, now many are complaining that the factories are moving to China. Too many idiots loved to laugh at another area misfortune, ignorant that they had the same problems. NYC had been declining since the 1970s. It took them 50 years and it still one of the richest cities on Earth. Let' s see if the city apocalypse still continued to come. Rossman is a pessimist, he always happy to be disappointed, and I think it is going to be like that again.

[@AndroidDigest]

@@Account.for.Comment California has all big businesses moving to Texas

[@annyer262]

@@Account.for.Comment Calilfornia is losing a house seat for the first time ever due to declining population!

[@f1champ551]

I live in Louisiana and Its 100% similar to NYC but the housing prices are bat shit crazy as well as everywhere else where I live in Natchitoches, Louisiana... And also its a college town too... And they are leaving Louisiana to Texas but not Texas to Louisiana. It's not just the current governor it took place its going back to Jindal, Blanco and down the line.

[@seriosertyp8145]

Sad to see the whole city turn into mortgage collateral. Businesses are leaving but lot space prices keep rising thanks to constant new luxury apartments being built. Owned by people who just have it to show their wealth and only stay one week a year in December.

[@googiegress]

"Sonny! That's not for you! You're being a New Yorker" Instantly love your shit, thanks man

[@abnegazher]

Dude, this make even Rio de Janeiro look like a prosperous City of Tomorrow.

[@boboutelama5748]

There will be profound changes in the USA in a not so distant future. We already have a good amount of american refugees that landed in my country. Those refugees are well educated and have good savings. They are definitely a plus for our community, but, the important point in this story is, they are fleeing. And yes, from what I was able to know, none will go back. I'm sure, if Brazil can tackle it's inequality and corruption, the country will have a renaissance.

[@steviechubbs5238]

@@boboutelama5748 I hope it does, live from America

[@speedzero7478]

@@boboutelama5748 Brazil is beautiful. I hope for them always, that they overcome their difficulties. USA, I'm not sure there is hope.

[@_Circus_Clapped_]

@@boboutelama5748 doubt it with republitrash and demorats I can't see any change, last time anything changed or was close to changing those presidents were murdered one of them pushed for civil rights and he was libertarian in office by popular votes and guess what that led to? one of the biggest changes and platform changes in history. Shame we won't see that again, all I will see in my lifetime is increasing debt and low IQ laws passing just to satisfy emotional voters, I'm already seeing more criminals get more rights than an average person and people literally unable to recover thanks to the way everyone handled COVID

[@alexglass818]

Credit the filmmaker lol this is not what nyc looks like, it’s easy to find a couple of vacant buildings at any point in time, much less right after a pandemic

[@se6586]

“Least I could do was respect his privacy” *guy does crack in the street* Louis is a real gentlemen

[@GGdevelopment]

@6:08

[@goa141no6]

@@dertythegrower Maybe going hardcore an do crocodile would impose more respect.

[@zaxscat5357]

@@bubbasmith3638 because banning things is 100% how we fix things in America. Its worked so well every time we tried.

[@egg5474]

@@bubbasmith3638 or you could just stop handing out prescription opioids like candy and actually investigating officials accepting bribes for letting it pass through the borders instead of the classic “We the investigators, have investigated ourselves and have not found evidence of any wrongdoing”

[@Zerenko]

"A little Sony AX53 that I got on ebay for a few hundred dollars a while back, becuase they said the zoom didn't work. I punched it and now the zoom works... Unauthorised repair baby." lmao

[@peterjpavlov]

Louis, I believe that church used to be a club back in the day called Limelite. It was a hot spot for the underground club kids. There’s a movie called Party Monster that is a true story based on the club owner. The acting is terrible though. A few years back it was a spot where different types of vendors sold their products there and there was a spa. Interesting to see that it’s now a restaurant. If only those kitchen walls could talk ! 😂

[@shanezielinski7418]

Correct: The point to take away is they'll never drop the rent, because it drops the value of the property. And eventually the system will come to the realisation (which hasn't been established in the market) that the property is of NO VALUE if absolutely nothing is in it, and nothing is around it. All it will be is an outgoings liability.

[@michealmorris3766]

The same thing has been going on in Vancouver for years... analysts padding the bottom line through analysis, with fewer and fewer real, tangible, commerce to support the castles in the sky. Overseas investment properties sitting empty, retail and commercial leases unused because they are too expensive for anyone to realise a profit. All the while the City lavishes tax dollars on empty bike lanes in the rain forest, and closes streets to make parks that are soon taken over by tax subsidized drug addicts. Our place as a portal for mainland Chinese to launder their money away from the CCP buoys our economy for now, but this whole mess will seems inevitable in hindsight after it all tumbles down, just like the housing bubble in 2008. For now though, a lot of people are making money building castles on foundations of sand. So shhhh, don't ruin the party, everyone knows everything will be fine! Real estate only goes up! Panglossian madness.

[@joe7665]

How long do u think they can try hold the price up before dropping it

[@shanezielinski7418]

@@joe7665 For roughly as long a period of time as the financial instruments that caused the GFC took to go from dormant to nuclear fusion. This is NYC after all. It was just another created product by paperwork after all. They keep up the rent to keep up the property prices - and get the windfalls when it worked, but now its not working for the owners of those properties (if they dare admit that). Now, they would have a heap of money to hold things up, BUT it will get drained, just like the good borrowers that paid back their loans got bundled in with all the bad debts during GFC. Only there are two differences.. 1) The City is still charging them at the (artificial) value of the property that they themselves keep up (so a heap more than it actually really is worth - hence vacancy) so that's a big bite to cop to look 'better' on a balance sheet for any long period of time. 2) The Federal Government bails out BANKS and financial institutions, NOT property owners. Defaults will happen. Rationalisation will determine that property values will drop and would be considered in pathetic reporting numbers, even though people will try and 'bluff' the value (the financial equivalent of the thousand 'prime commercial opportunity' signs, as seen in the video). It all sounds familiar... What will happen is people in the know will (quietly) sell out of anything to do with it beforehand, see if the Government comes in when disaster occurs, then reclaim control with their money flowing back in for the fire sales. Like what the banks investors did to get rid of government oversight once they got bailed out (so they can have their excessive Christmas parties in peace - they were never in doubt).... Just another financial manipulation, just less direct - A direct method would be BLM's plan of causing riots to have people flee, promote to get funding for a cause/reason (but directly to the individual) , then use those funds to buy up the properties they terrorised on the cheap (as it just so happened) to increase their net worth - after all they didn't earn it with actual beneficial efforts, so anything and everything is a profit at that point. Its all so pathetically OBVIOUS.

[@user-ne2bb5nh7t]

But then the question is what is going on with the property tax law and the corporate tax law that makes it more profitable to have an empty building as opposed to lowering the rent, but still having net positive income? I would be very interested in seeing how these properties are being appraised.

[@shanezielinski7418]

@@user-ne2bb5nh7t different systems and they aren't seemless or consistent. Look, its like people manipulating their income UP to get a loan (usually for a house) - They lie to get the loan so they pay extra tax AND possibly have to keep doing it based on how often the bank wants proof (if its close).... It also means that naturally they are already more stretched than they can typically handle.... Also you get some tax breaks for NOT being profitable. You're taxed on income, not valuations on a balance sheet (except for rates).. Its where you want the value showing.... P&L or Balance Sheet... But the Balance sheet is easily manipulated within the law

[@monty58]

These are the kind of videos that historians will refer to when studying the downslide of NYC

[@jameelbilqis11]

Omg I know I'm a part of history🤣

[@stevetonnesen3666]

You are the voice of truth crying in the wilderness. Thank you Louis for your amazing and very worthwhile public service.

[@justbeegreen]

Also, good business advice: "You're not staying in business if you're closed at 3 PM on a Tuesday." - LR

[@johnpeterson7264]

Remember when “escape from New York” was a fictional movie ?

[@rambo64bit82]

It wasn't a fictional movie. It was a documentary

[@wades623]

Idiocracy is a pre documentary too

[@shanezielinski7418]

Remember when Batman Rises was fiction... Guys in masks wanting to give you back the city, but holding it under curfew 'for your safety', blockades everywhere, and the judge being Johnathan Crain (the Scarecrow - the dude from Batman begins)....

[@queenredpill6561]

All sci-fi movies are science factual movies!!! They just show,what the future holds.

[@shanezielinski7418]

@@queenredpill6561 I'd argue it was more a case of movies being the basis of Self-Fulling Prophecies of BAD ideas that the instigators want to either inflict on others, or hadn't considered at a deeper level. Of course its one thing to say Escape from New York (or Batman Rises - which is more accurate to the times), but its when you start to see the motives of the powerful and wealthy in either Avengers Infinity War OR Kingsman (genocide, because its better for the World(s)) you tend to wish it doesn't become science factual.. But my sheer lack of faith in the power of authority to maintain humanity and good deeds tells me its probably better than a 50/50 chance. The UN doesn't help dissuade those odds either!

[@riopato2009]

6th ave around that area has always been flakey. stores has always been fly by night and constantly shady. The stores between 30th and 23rd street were mostly wholesaler shops and have to have a reseller license to even shop around that area. I laughed when Louis thought the church was a church. It use to be an infamous after hours club called the LimeLight. It hasn't been a church in almost a half century, maybe more.

[@jamesc210]

facts

[@triumphsrule0793]

oh haha I remember that place in the 80s and Nells funny I was like that place looks familiar haha good times

[@mvl9591]

Yes! Went there a loooooong time ago. My girlfriend was chewing gum and the bouncer at the door stopped us, made her spit it out, “ No chewing gum in church!”

[@roboknight]

"...where the students are high and the grades are low..." that would have been a spit-take if I'd been drinking anything. Bwhahahahahahahahaha!

[@kazehanahooin232]

sounds like my high school

[@harryconover289]

Ounmm

[@izmejazz]

As a New York native, I can confirm this video is accurate. It's very sad to see the money capital fall like this...not to mention crime is through the roof. Terrible.

[@XCenturionX]

Downtown Miami is even worse

[@markiec8914]

Let's hope NYC doesn't go down like South Africa when people won't be able to have access to food and money.

[@lewislinzy3437]

What can you expect? Government regulations and theft are DESTROYING this whole country, making everyone homeless.

[@waterheaterservices]

@@lewislinzy3437 Glorious revolutionary God mocking humanist socialism.

[@lewislinzy3437]

@@waterheaterservices God is not one to be mocked, for whatever a man is sowing that is what he will reap (Galatians6: 7).

[@user-hv6wb5gk8p]

Property owners pass rising property prices on to renters. Businesses need more income to cover higher costs while consumers have have less spending money. Wages don't increase because the businesses can't afford it. As a layman it seems like property prices eventually have to level off or there's will be a massive bust when the banks realize the entire city has become overvalued. Wonder when that tipping point comes.

[@jond3929]

Price will collapse then the super wealthy that are left over will buy it up. Seems deliberate. Remember: "you'll own nothing and be happy"

[@mauro_o_cesar]

The entire world really

[@Incubansoul]

When a person gets mugged they tend to avoid the place where they got mugged. It's the same for businesses.

[@myvideosetc.8271]

Apparently avoiding this and moving somewhere else is racist now.

[@VeeTHis]

@@myvideosetc.8271 Huh?

[@myvideosetc.8271]

@@VeeTHis According to some disctrict attorneys in San Francisco...

[@JeffManseau]

"Where the students are high but the grades are low" That's gotta be the best scam school tagline ever 🤣

[@xastor]

I can totally imagine it appearing an old simpson-episode

[@CHEFKUSHOJ]

Why anyone would want to live there is beyond me. Crowded, high priced, smelly, etc

[@buchan1965a]

Never underestimate the gullibility of hipsters.

[@DamienYuen7718]

@@buchan1965a LOL

[@franklin3271]

@@buchan1965a 🤣 The pretentiousness

[@Re5ist_ance]

A lot of it is not having a choice or just not knowing any other place to go to .. meaning they have roots in NY, they grew up there, their great grandparents grew up there etc. Plus its not easy to just uproot the only thing you know and just move to a different location. I live in the middle of the country myself and even here, where it used to be cheap and things were clean etc. has now gotten a LOT more expensive and urban decay has began .. just like NY and other bigger cities. Its a thing all of America will eventually experience. Houses here in middle America went from $140K to now same house (under 2000sq ft) is going for $315K! It is getting nuts! Maybe I need to move to these cities where everyone is exiting 😂

[@zeroaffinity1323]

@@Re5ist_ance There's always a choice. It may not be a comfortable choice, but there's always a choice.

[@Enders]

Thank you for showing the urban decay and vacancy of one of the most talked about and loved, yet neglected and over-politicized , places in the world!

[@conormcgregor.7333]

The devastation both mentally and physically is astounding.

[@algorerhyth]

KHABIB

[@KidGravityBeyond]

I am from NYC originally and I saw this coming from 2014. The current leadership never cared about the citizens, only the transplants and elites.

[@gangoffour6690]

Conor, give up the fight game.

[@deebee4575]

Get out now.

[@darklucida]

That gamestop there closed like 2 years ago already. I shopping whatever was left during the clearance sale. I can't believe that Vivis is closed too. That must be really recent cause I remember walking by there and it was still open a few months ago. As for that church, it's been used for like random sales as far back as I can remember 5+ years.

[@thetwogardens6048]

Same thing is happening in every city in Australia . Businesses going broke and closing their doors .

[@AM-HillsideWorks]

Wow

[@inkbold8511]

That's bc u guys destroyed your own trade partnership with China 😂 what can you expect from listening to Uncle Sam?

[@illpunchyouintheface9094]

@@inkbold8511 you know so little but still speak

[@chhitijpahari1011]

Same I uk london.

[@MrKago1]

"look at that space. that's gorgeous." [ puts pile of garbage squarely in the center of the frame ]. I see you are well versed in San Fransisco real estate.

[@hollandtimelapse5040]

He has not been in a normal city in a long time, so he is blind to all the dirt and broken streets and junk. USA is almost beyond saving.

[@hanelyp1]

My take: NYC grew into what it was before the modern Internet, back when physical proximity meant something to the cornerstone businesses of the city, financial and banking, legal, advertising, etc. So the big businesses put up with a certain amount of the local BS to be where it was happening. Today the advantage of physical proximity is all but gone. When an office closes in the big city it is not replaced by another business in the big city, but by a business opening outside the city somewhere. And as the cornerstone businesses go elsewhere, the cultural elements follow. Then add the covid lockdown nonsense and the movement of business to outside the city goes into overdrive.

[@artsimulation]

A very logical evaluation of the situation. If we follow that line of thinking then there has to come a point where virtually no one is renting at all and the owners of the property will either have to; carry the burden of owning it, try to sell it, or offer rock bottom rent prices. The consequences of that will be that all property will go into negative equity and thus cause a crash. So perhaps the next crash will not be started by the home property market this time, but by commercial property.

[@cinemint]

Everyone's moving down here to Texas, the land of opportunity. The House of Representatives seat count proves it. We'll see how this plays out.

[@TOAOM123]

@@cinemint As long as they leave theyre dumbfounding ideas behind, I welcome them

[@qjtvaddict]

You would have preferred disease to go wild

[@TOAOM123]

@@qjtvaddict It should be left up to people

[@kamui004]

Just realized how much scaffolding there is NYC and questioned there shouldn't be so much construction or facade repair everywhere in NY. Then read about it and realized it's another consequence of the sh!tty NYC bureaucracy like your permit problems and fines.

[@Thefreakyfreek]

The fact that you need a permid for evry move you make that's horrible If I wanted to move my stuf I would just do it

[@Kali_Krause]

You can thank Communist Cuomo for that. Vote him out!

[@kamui004]

@@Kali_Krause all the permit sh!t is older than Cuomo and even if you refer to the Local Law 11 that lead to all the scaffolding, that's from 1998.

[@yeledyahubenisrael3929]

Please keep showing the reality of the situation. Good job!

[@sanitarycockroach9038]

Not even Reddit memes could save a Gamestop in NYC

[@Noisemaker50]

"I don't know, these tulip prices just keep going up and up and up..."

[@jefftheriault5522]

Yes, you have exactly.

[@anderander5662]

An obscure reference most people won't get...but you are EXACTLY right

[@Noisemaker50]

@@anderander5662 i do it all for you babyyyy

[@lukarikid9001]

@@Noisemaker50 tulip mania!

[@jscholex]

@@anderander5662 I think cause of bitcoin a lot of people get this reference now

[@SeanHodgins]

@ 9:00 is why NYC is kind of magical. What is the deal with that place! Who knows the last time it was even opened up. I would love to explore inside of it. So many hidden weird places around.

[@dumbbellenjoyer]

The owner probably passed and it's just being left. It still looks better than most buildings of the time that have been in constant use.

[@HoodrichShinobi]

This is sarcasm right?

[@rossmannkoigroup]

was. that hasn't been opened for work in a loooooong time...

[@charrua59]

You gonna end up with aids or found a old Body that got dump there by mob

[@laurants]

I thought the magical moment was this one: 6:23

[@JM-xu3cr]

When I was much younger, about your age it appears , the idea of living in NYC was appealing and exciting. I've visited twice, had a good time, but now the idea of living there or any big city is so very unappealing. I just look at what you're showing and it's a mix of revulsion and sadness. I know not all the city looks like that, but this looks like a pretty good sized sample. I hope it comes back.

[@charliegodinez9655]

I don’t understand why people live over there. Cold as heck in the winter, snowing, de icing your windshield, hot nasty late summer, crappy people, no nice beaches, over priced everything, and some how bright lights and over crowding is an attraction.

[@robertodell9193]

NYC is where crazy people go to live among their own kind.

[@bsherman8236]

Too many shows and movies make it look good.

[@pigknickers2975]

As a Londoner, and a mac repair guy, this is familiar stuff. Our cities our dying and this seems to be the plan. London is facing the same problems, high rent, less footfall, roads are being carved up. I went to Manhattan in 2016 so glad I visited when I did.

[@4ickyy]

Our Councils are corrupt. If a landlord can demonstrate vacancy it's easier to covert use to residential. High rents are part of the picture in making this happen.

[@GusMahn]

The plan seems to force government to take control then force us back into cities. The suburban lifestyle doesn't agree with the liberal/green agenda.

[@_Wai_Wai_]

This is Crony capitalism eating itself.

[@PT94x]

@@GusMahn Yeah. A bit like how they forced everyone into cities in the Victorian era. Maybe that's why governments are paying farmers to destroy their crops. No incentive for the farmers to keep the land, then the government takes control of the land once the farmers move off of it.

[@mrjohnnyk]

@@dirtsapient9638 Anyone who gets caught up in idealism is becoming blind to the real world.

[@Toothily]

Who else here is just enjoying the stroll around NYC with Louis?

[@raven4k998]

I am it saves me from having to go to that shit hole to do that sort of thing I love the best part of not having to smell the piss smell as I am behind my computer screen yay

[@durango8882]

🤣have fun y’all 😝

[@joestewart8914]

Of course there are vacancies in the doldrums of Summer. Watch when back-to-school comes and Christmas is just around the corner. Every one of these spaces will be open with brand new retail. Exciting.

[@knote4958]

I was waiting to see if this was all from covid, but it looks like many of these places have been vacant for a long time. Seems like high cost of business/real estate has been a problem for a long time, and covid was just insult to injury.

[@AntiAtheismIsUnstoppable]

Covid was primarily invented to take away constitutional rights. Of course they also used it to kill small business, but the main reason was to kill the constitution once and for all.

[@olivekatz9139]

Some have been vacant for yrs. The old Barnes and Noble on 6th Ave and 8th Street has been empty for well over a decade.

[@StudiousFerret]

I was just in NYC 2 weeks ago. It was my first time being there and I was astounded at how much was closed down. I spent The whole time in Manhattan, but still it was shocking how many places were closed.

[@Ciph3rN1N3]

that is your problem right there ... to much time in Manhattan and the wrong parts .

[@KenjiMapes]

I am a native NYer. Born on LI & lived im Brooklyn the past decade. I spent 8 years in the Army mainly in Colorado. I love Colorado but most stuff there are chains: Walmart, Chili’s, Subway, Domino’s, etc Not a lot of Mom & Pop places. Although places like Chick-Fil-A & even Papa John’s (pizza chains in NY is almost sacrilege) there are still a lot of small businesses run by families-Mom & Pop type deals. It is a huge convenience & resource to have things like bodegas, pet stores, hardware stores, etc in your Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan neighborhood. It is so nice to be able to walk or bike to a neighborhood hardware store instead of going to a huge store like Home Depot for small home repair items, etc You can still get glass cut, keys made, etc At any rate the pandemic lockdowm really hurt small businesses in New York & elsewhere. Also the rioting & looting hurt & destroyed many small businesses. In NY it wasn’t bad but other places endured months of riots & looting. Rampant stealing is hurting all types of businesses. However it is small businesses that get hurt the most. When they close they hurt locals as that resources is gone & takes jobs with it. It was the Amazons & Walmarts who benefitted from all of the lockdowns. They had record sales because everyone had stuff shipped. While I supported safety some of the lockdowns were draconian. They helped the rich get richer. So if you can, support your local small businesses when you can. I saw a lot of people in my building go out & protest yet they had package after package from Amazon & Chewy. Kind of hypocritical no? You’re out protesting the “system” while helping the wealthiest. It’s shame that many small businesses have been negatively affected by the lockdowns & rioters/looters/thieves are really hurting businesses. In the end it’s the paying law abiding citizens who bear the costs. Prices are raised to cover theft losses. Many minority owned stores that served majority minority neighborhoods might not ever come back. It’s a sad state of affairs. It’s crazy though. In Brooklyn they keep building luxury residences. They built 2 new high rises by me which took out a super market, bank & pharmacy. More people & less amenities is a model that will bite them in the rear. I think a lot of pols & planners are getting greased. I love NY but a lot of the pros of living here are disappearing whereas things like crime, traffic & quality of life are dwindling. It’s a mess & people need to stop voting the same & expecting a different results. Don’t even get me started on NYCHA housing. I know a 30 year bachelor that “inherited” his city paid housing from his parents who got it from his grandparents. He doesn’t have to pay rent or work. This is why he has a $100,000 Mercedes. Must be nice. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better & I am not sure things will ever return to pre-pandemic levels. Cuomo & De Blasio have been an anathema the state & city.

[@skyangel6336]

Same Big companies who stole all of small businesses business and profiting off people's pain also supported the radical groups who caused all this damage to small businesses. It's not hard to connect the dots!

[@giovannip.1433]

If you factor in raw materials, labour and utilities, how much do you have to charge for the end product -and how many - to cover $75 000 a month rent? e.g. A luncheon/baloney sandwich with sauce: loaf of bread $1 (20 slices), Luncheon $4/kilo, sauce $2, butter $3. Lets say 1kg is 30 slices So 3 loaves of bread. 1hr labour(need to go out and get the ingredients before you start) -'$15'. So that is $26 for 30 sandwiches - (87 cents). Lets say you convince someone to buy a baloney sandwich for $5 - Just to cover rent for a month (no utilities) you need to sell 18145 sandwiches. 604 hours of sandwich making (3 workers). 604 sandwiches a day just to make rent...

[@jackgerberuae]

No sandwich shop will $75k in rent though. But, cool explainer.

[@cbassyokum9582]

@@jackgerberuae yes they do... that's literally the point of the video

[@jackgerberuae]

@@cbassyokum9582 the Popeys shop pays $17k

[@KegThinks]

Jacques are you saying that no sandwich shop will pay 75K in rent? Or am I misunderstanding?

[@jackgerberuae]

@@KegThinks yes. Also note it’s per month. Of course they can pay what they want, but it’s not affordable. By comparison, the Popeys (like a KFC type franchise) i was referring to, Louis said was paying $17k pm. So how would a sandwich shop be profitable ?

[@Mitjitsu]

Sad thing is the people who own these places are eventually going to get bailed out.

[@four-en-tee]

mmm, capitalism gone unchecked

[@Mitjitsu]

@@four-en-tee Getting bailed out by the government has nothing to do with capitalism.

[@Usersunited]

I'm sure everyone whos business was utterly fucking ruined by both government strong-arming, and rioters wishes you were even marginally correct.

[@AntiAtheismIsUnstoppable]

by the communists, yes. The same politicians who caused them to close.

[@debbiescott6732]

@@four-en-tee why do you even live in America? Go live somewhere else like Venezuela or Cuba, you'll love it there, absolutely no Capitalism.

[@DrCoomer_1]

I know but it feels like New York is the big centre of 'business is being closed and not reopening' but this is happening all over the world. Australia, in Victoria, we have lost so many businesses I don't see how the economy could ever recover. The local stores all died, it's just big chains that are left. It is genuinely depressing seeing it all. I'm not trying to take away from the main point your making, just trying to help give more general info.

[@visitante-pc5zc]

Things change but not people. Idiots still believe that big govs fight big biz.

[@samwild6630]

I'm also in Victoria, however I see a different picture to you. In regional areas, things are starting to get back to normality. My work load has tripled in size over the last 6 months. Local small businesses; especially in hospitality, are picking back up quite nicely.

[@DrCoomer_1]

@@samwild6630 metro/suburban unfortunately have not, all over the state I see the same, glad the countryside has improved

[@planktonic-larvae]

@@DrCoomer_1 That's strange, I'm down in Frankston and literally nothing has changed here.

[@mauro_o_cesar]

Brazilian living in Curitiba region and going to São Paulo at least once a month. Yeah shits ugly here fam. Closings hit downtown big time

[@laurants]

I think New York government employees are the only ones who dislike his videos.

[@wjebel]

Especially the building department

[@cynthiajohnson9412]

When government jobs are the only jobs that pay a living wage, it's a house of cards waiting to collapse. There's no tax base to support those jobs. Soon the tax collectors will be the only one still on the payrolls. Quick, NYC hire a huge firm of a six-digit consultants to come in and tell you over priced markets crash.

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

They don't care, they are all up here in Albany away from the riff raff downstate

[@evensgrey]

@@AdamSmith-gs2dv I'm pretty sure more people work for the City of New York than the State of New York.

[@Brent-jj6qi]

@@evensgrey pretty sure more people live in NYC then the rest of NY

[@PowderedToastMan3]

I work in this area. It's really sad the amount of businesses that didn't make it, and east Chelsea is a really prime area.

[@kingcosworth2643]

"He looks like he was shooting up, I wanted to respect his privacy" While the dude himself is happily shooting up in the middle of the sidewalk, what privacy, he obviously doesn't care about it.

[@jntj3007]

There's no such thing as privacy in a public venue such as a sidewalk. And, if he was shooting up, he couldn't care less.

[@AlohaChips]

I assume Louis was being really low key sarcastic there, lol.

[@stefman5713]

And a few blocks away business has never been better for the oligarks, corrupt banking industry, and Wall St.

[@lakeblackBLM]

Capitalism is like a vampire draining the life from new york

[@SuperKerrigor]

100 years from now: Today on fall of Civilizations podcast.

[@redacted4118]

I suspect 5-10 years at best 30 at worst. I think most will willingly leave the "civilized" world once TPTB start enforcing the "bugs as food" policies.

[@b3at2]

You guys are over hyperbolic.... The problem is rampant greed in NYC. Prices will tumble and everybody will be hyperbolic about that too.

[@georgesabitpol]

I love that podcast, the intro music always give me the chills. Can't wait for the western civilization episode!

[@JustWowNick]

This comment is gold.

[@TheTrueVoiceOfReason]

'Circle of business" More like "The Circle of Strife."

[@DrLaurelWeaver]

Why move back when you know you are one sneeze away from a riot or lockdown?

[@AntiAtheismIsUnstoppable]

which is exactly what the communists in government know and expect. First phase, kill religion and culture and history, second, kill any small business. The rest comes naturally, they just have to direct it in the right direction now and then, then control the leaders of the inevitable civil war and then, they can install true communist government in the last phase, normalization.

[@graczmisiek4131]

Why move back when you can work remotely and sit next to the window every day? In a corporation it's a status symbol when you get a seat next to the window after 10 years of slavery and sucking up

[@DrLaurelWeaver]

@@graczmisiek4131 lol the businesses that are gone are not corporations though. Its restaurants, bars, record stores, shoe stores, small businesses basically. You can't run a restaurant from home.

[@evensgrey]

@@DrLaurelWeaver Yes, all the stuff that's not all the same everywhere. You can find any big chain store you want in any city or large town. Sure, you know what the food is going to be like at a big chain restaurant, but what if you want to get some really good Vietnamese noodle soup? (I mention this because we have, or had, anyway, a ridiculous profusion of Vietnamese restaurants, mostly in Ottawa's Chinatown, mostly called Pho Bo and distinguished with a number.)

[@zachjackel]

When you kick a dog every day for a year, why would it come back if it isn't being kicked somewhere else. I wouldn't care that nyc is reopening either. Its the city itself and it's policies that made people leave not the rona.

[@fillerbunnyninjashark271]

The people voted for those policies

[@zachjackel]

@@fillerbunnyninjashark271 if you think the average person knows one line of the policy you are sorely mistaken. People vote for teams.

[@KennyVo120]

@@zachjackel gotta love those single issue voters.

[@ashmoleproductions5407]

@@zachjackel If you cannot be bothered to look at what the talking head you voted in is doing. Cannot look critically at things and just think 'red elephant bad, blue donkey good!" You get what you deserve. And before "But what about...!" save it no one is defending them but the results of policy is plain for anyone to see. *not insulting you just so tired of it all.

[@zachjackel]

@@ashmoleproductions5407 If you're really that frustrated with politics you should unplug, even if just for a week or two. Im sure politics will get busier as the next set of elections close in but its not for a while yet. Personally I enjoy the clownshow, and I'm trying to enjoy the last declines of america while the dollar is still worth something.

[@Aulakauss]

"I punched it and now the zoom works. Unauthorized repair, baby!" Percussive maintenance works more often than it really ought to, hahaha.

[@excitedbox5705]

That 40 year closed building is probably a treasure trove of antiques.

[@Badspot]

"..and if you're interested in dust, here's a quaint little piece from the mid 1980s, it's called a dust buster."

[@egg5474]

Probably a Ming Vase with a mouldy pastrami sandwich and cigarette butts stuffed inside, or maybe a fake Stradivarius in a false backed case with counterfeit notes inside, or a crate of Austrian wine that tastes like sugary piss and will kill you

[@BarbaraMerryGeng]

Thank you - for showing us what’s the deal with NYC retail in mid town NYC 👋🏼

[@Angryjenkinsdigital]

Damn. In the 2000s I did lots of freelance studio work in and around this neighborhood (Chelsea). Used to eat at so many of those places, especially the Asian Fusion place. I got laid off in 2014, and moved back to Jersey with my parents. Thought it was the worst thing that could happen to me. A year later I had a full-time job in software - shortly after that, I met my wife. Been living in NJ since, but always yearned to return to NYC. Now I dunno ...

[@scottperry7311]

I grew up in NJ, Bloomfield. I worked in NYC before getting a new job that moved me to Florida. I thought NJ/NY was the bomb when I was young but quickly learned that life outside the tristate area was so much better than I could ever have enjoyed there. Now I watch these videos and am saddened by how far NYC has fallen, but I knew it was inevitable and am glad I left long ago. While I love NJ when I live there I have not been back in more than a decade even though I have friends that still live there, they are all talking about leaving as soon as they can. How things change!

[@LemonRush7777]

If I were you, I wouldn't go back. NYC is on a downtrend from here on.

[@Kakerate2]

hows you land a job in software?

[@chettonex]

We all saw this coming. There is no real reason to live in NY anymore unless landlords bleed enough to lower the prices. Until then, people can enjoy much better quality of life living on any other non-hyped city.

[@avioracrown6967]

NY overated

[@daveduffy2823]

@@avioracrown6967 upstate New York is beautiful.

[@analyticalhabitrails9857]

Anywhere but nyc is probably better.

[@fufycaz78]

I'm an Italian medium small business trying to stay alive in here Italy, please it would be good also if you called some of the previous owners, let them tell you their stories, it would give context to just empty shops

[@LilyGazou]

Best of luck to you in Italy.

[@ge2719]

They were forced closed by the government for so long they had to shut permanent. It'll be that story over and over and over again.

[@andrefecteau]

yeah cmon bro, the entire restaurant and apparel industries were devestated...no one can "shut for 18 months" and survive...wait til the tax revenues are near zero and the government collapses

[@Pembo-vn7qq]

Good luck to you and your business in Italy - from a non-business owner in the central US.

[@carefulconsumer8682]

That's true for most of the nation. I saw some raw land last year, 34 acres for $70k which seemed to be to high. THEN, people started calling about the land from NYC, Chicago and SF and the owner now raised his price to $345k! This is what EZ Money is doing to the RE markets across the country.

[@Gravitics]

That building at 10:22 is owned by a dude thats 80yrs old and uses it as a getaway house from his wife, he refuses to sell to developers and its basically a museum inside, really interesting story on sideways nyc if you search Google for master cutting table nyc Cool stuff, I wouldn't have known if Louis didn't happen to see it

[@TheElephantRoom1]

This is like a zombie movie, except the zombies are stores and businesses.

[@StreetFighter2010]

I Am Legend comes to mind.

[@Blacksochs]

I'm not from the US, a lot of people go to New York for their holidays but I struggling to see the tourist appeal

[@chrisbutler7585]

There are many more appealing places to vacation in the US than big cities like NYC.

[@Blacksochs]

@@chrisbutler7585 I'm definitely making my first trip over next year, nonsense permitting. Lots I want to see!

[@TOAOM123]

@@Blacksochs You coupd try a southern city like austin or dallas; florida: ya got miami or orlando; los vegas, nevada; but id avoid traps like seattle, los angeles, or new york

[@sav7568]

Even in good times tourists don't often go to that part of NYC.

[@brennangum6236]

I dont know whats the appeal of Paris or Amsterdam? Some people like cities (like me) we go there for the different styles of architecture (NY is known for many different types of early and mid 20th century architecture) and to experience Americas city. Some people would never go to a city for vacation. And thats fine. But there is appeal. One of the best times I ever had was staying in Brooklyn for 2 weeks with my buddy and actually experiencing the city outside the tourist destinations.

[@johnduff1010]

Hey man thanks for these videos. Very instructive, you can see how similar things are between main EU cities and the US ... We actually are facing the same decay in Paris commercial areas and what you show here.

[@laclaflare7140]

“You’re being a New Yorker”💀💀💀

[@davecrupel2817]

😂😂😂

[@arsenicjones9125]

“If it’s like printing money why are they closed” 🤷‍♂️printer jam🤷‍♂️😅

[@faraelwilldabeast9951]

Money printer goes brrrrrr. Then you are robbed.

[@absalomdraconis]

Hilariously, there was supposedly a shortage of the balls used for the tea, so the metaphor continues to be relevant!

[@AshnSilvercorp]

binter bam.

[@dampintellect]

It's a older printer and takes 10 minutes to print one bill.

[@breathstealer5486]

$40,000 a month for this spot. Best I can do is tree fiddy.

[@wades623]

Best I could do is a bottle of piss from a crackhead