For many, many years, the metropolis of New York City has been viewed as the shining star of the United States and the free world. Its skyline and towering skyscrapers are a sight many associate with freedom, hope, prosperity, and the beginning of the American dream. I mean, can you think of a sight more iconic than that of the statue of liberty, with the oh so many buildings of NTY behind it?
However, in more recent times, the glory and pride that was once New York City have faded, leaving behind a torn and desolate image. An image filled not with hopes and dreams of a better future, but with food lines miles long, with dilapidated homes, and streets filled with swarms of homeless.
No longer is it the crown jewel of Western society, but the fungus that grows between its toes.
According to the New York Times, about 1.5 million New Yorkers can longer afford to feed their families, relying on soup kitchens and food pantries for even the most basic needs. But those services can only do so much, and according to both The Times and many of those in the foodservice industry, it’s not nearly enough.
Alexander Rapaport is the executive director of such a food service, a soup kitchen called Masbia. The New York-based nonprofit network has fed the poor and hungry in NYC for 15 years now. But according to Rapaport, things have never been worse.
He told WNYW-TV, “We’ve done disasters before, but nothing is even close to what we are doing now.” According to his calculations, the demands put on Masbia by the communities of New York City since the pandemic began early in the year have increased by as much as 500 percent.
Rapaport claims that all Masbia locations are now open 24/7 and feed about 1,500 families every day, but many still go without.
So how could the city change so drastically and in a seemingly short amount of time?
The political left would love to say that it is the fault of the COVID-19 pandemic and nothing more. And, to be sure, there is some truth to that. However, it is not the virus itself that has left people without hope, faith, or even food to put on the tables.
Instead, it is the laws of the city’s leaders surrounding COVID.
Laws that have allowed the city’s ever-growing homeless population to take over some of the city’s most luxurious and prosperous hotels on the Upper West Side, effectively driving business out of the area.
Laws that have kept schools closed for far too long, forcing parents to choose between staying home from work and not earning a paycheck or paying thousands extra each month for childcare. Of course, with many daycares and other childcare settings being closed, this wasn’t an option for many.
And of course, we can’t forget about the laws imposed by state Governor Andrew Cuomo that led over 6,000 of New York’s most at-risk individuals to their death beds. Then again, that might not even be an accurate amount of nursing home patients who died.
According to the Associated Press, “New York’s coronavirus death toll in nursing homes, already the highest in the nation, could actually be a significant undercount. Unlike every other state with major outbreaks, New York only counts residents who died on nursing home property and not those who were transported to hospitals and died there.”
All of these laws have essentially forced the people of New York into poverty. The hopes and dreams that the city used to inspire and produce now lie in a heap of rubble on the ground.
Businesses of every size, shape, and color down have been shut down, many for good. Unemployment and poverty rates are skyrocketing. And crime is at an all-time high.
No wonder people are leaving the city en masse, looking for greener pastures.
If New York and NYC leadership knew what was good for them, as well as their citizens, they’d start to make some changes before it is too late. As it is now, the city will likely spend years trying to undo the wrongs done in the last few months.
