I know the death of NYC has been written about before. But this does seem a bit different. I mean what is the value proposition to New York? Most everything that is great about NYC is pretty much the opposite of social distancing. I probably skew to the younger side on this board but was always amazed at the demand for young folks to live here, living paycheck to paycheck, even in white-collar jobs. But the value proposition of enjoying all that NYC had to offer was worth it for them. But with much of the larger gatherings (concerts, clubs, sports, etc) likely done for the foreseeable future and bars/restaurants limited, what exactly is the value proposition? At that point, it comes down to jobs and if people are not only allowed but encouraged to WFH, it doesn't make sense to spend what $3k+ for 700 square feet.
A lot of the older folks that I worked with already live outside the city. Few of them seemed to enjoy the commute, at least on a daily basis. So working from home flexibility, at least on occasion, will likely be attractive to them. Of course that will flow through to the broader economy. Like I said, probably biased towards looking at things from the younger generation, but if you can't convince the 20-30 year olds to move here, that seems to be a whammy on multiple derivatives. That hurts rent, hurts commercial real estate since employers won't be as interested in NYC, and hurts the entertainment side since most nights and weekends bars/restaurants seem full of Millenials.
Not to turn it too much into a political thing but I do think they need to think about the damage they're doing. They seem to overvalue the value proposition of the city as it currently stands. They also probably need to recognize that the people with means and who likely pay more in taxes, are also the first ones to leave.
