Retail Chains Abandon Manhattan: ‘It’s Unsustainable’ - Page 2

Crawford · #21 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 7:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

It was unthinkable that retailers would be ditching the Mag Mile when Obama was president. But here we are...

Yeah, I love the "vote for incumbent if you believe incumbent is presiding over economic and social carnage" electoral logic. Makes lots of sense.

If any stores are closing on Michigan Ave., it's obviously due to the pandemic, and not because some idiots broke a window. The losses due to six months of near-zero sales obviously massively outweigh looting risks.

And Chicago's Michigan Ave. retail, as in Midtown Manhattan, is pretty heavily oriented to visitors, so you obviously need a vaccine for a sustained economic rebound. But I see no reason why Michigan Ave. wouldn't eventually recover.

Pedestrian · #22 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 7:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

That's the advantage of Manhattan being an island. Very hard for looters to get in en masse.

Bottom line is, whether it's looting, foot traffic, or both--COVID is by far the underlying cause.

Once COVID lockdowns are over, I think we will see things return to normal again, although it may take another full year.

I also think that this will sort of be like a Noah's Ark of commercial real estate. A way for fresh new businesses to have a crack at some of the prime locations. Rents will still be well below their peak, and we will see new names, new restaurants, etc.

Lets try to be optimistic!

Difficult but not impossible.

Here's a fun dashcam view from one of a pair of CHP motorcycles chased toward SF (usually it's the other direction: Chasing them back to the East Bay after some sort of criminal activity in the peninsula that is SF). In the beginning you can see the red car being chased zoom up the shoulder on the left.

• Video Link

the urban politician · #23 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 7:37 PM**

Well, if I were a criminal looter who wanted to gather up my thug-buddies and, with a bunch of cars, trucks, and U-Hauls, raid Manhattan Chicago-style, we'd have a big problem:

The Lincoln & Holland Tunnels
Midtown Tunnel.
George Washington Bridge
Triborough bridge

I believe all have heavy tolls and of course are manned by police.

Now if you take the Brooklyn Bridge I believe you can get into Manhattan for free, and I think there is another free one too, right?

However, NYPD under Mayor's orders could easily, during the looting, order a closing of all bridges and tunnels as well as cutting off subway service, thus preventing the looters from getting out of Manhattan.

Ultimately, I think mounting a 3 am gangster raid in Manhattan in order to steal handbags and jewelry sounds like a logistic (and safety) nightmare.

Pedestrian · #24 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Well, if I were a criminal looter who wanted to gather up my thug-buddies and, with a bunch of cars, trucks, and U-Hauls, raid Manhattan Chicago-style, we'd have a big problem:

The Lincoln & Holland Tunnels
Midtown Tunnel.
George Washington Bridge
Triborough bridge

I believe all have heavy tolls and of course are manned by police.

Now if you take the Brooklyn Bridge I believe you can get into Manhattan for free, and I think there is another free one too, right?

However, NYPD under Mayor's orders could easily, during the looting, order a closing of all bridges and tunnels as well as cutting off subway service, thus preventing the looters from getting out of Manhattan.

Ultimately, I think mounting a 3 am gangster raid in Manhattan in order to steal handbags and jewelry sounds like a logistic (and safety) nightmare.

In SF, into the city costs you, leaving is free. It's the other way in NY? I recall paying the Lincoln Tunnel toll going into town years ago.

Anyway, the way it is here is more convenient for criminals and Mayor deBlasio should think about that since he seems to take their concerns to heart.

iheartthed · #25 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Well, if I were a criminal looter who wanted to gather up my thug-buddies and, with a bunch of cars, trucks, and U-Hauls, raid Manhattan Chicago-style, we'd have a big problem:

The Lincoln & Holland Tunnels
Midtown Tunnel.
George Washington Bridge
Triborough bridge

I believe all have heavy tolls and of course are manned by police.

Now if you take the Brooklyn Bridge I believe you can get into Manhattan for free, and I think there is another free one too, right?

However, NYPD under Mayor's orders could easily, during the looting, order a closing of all bridges and tunnels as well as cutting off subway service, thus preventing the looters from getting out of Manhattan.

Ultimately, I think mounting a 3 am gangster raid in Manhattan in order to steal handbags and jewelry sounds like a logistic (and safety) nightmare.

At the risk of contributing to an already idiotic discussion, there are almost a couple dozen bridges that connect to Manhattan, and three vehicular tunnels. There are also 1.6 million people that live on the island itself who could conceivably gather up their "thug-buddies" to loot.

LA21st · #26 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:41 PM**

But Manhattan was looted badly in June, for a few days.

I remember the Bronx getting looted pretty bad in June. Sure, Manhattan might be safer, but the Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are not.

Pedestrian · #27 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

But Manhattan was looted badly in June, for a few days.

I remember the Bronx getting looted pretty bad in June. Sure, Manhattan might be safer, but the Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are not.

SoHo was thoroughly looted.

LA21st · #28 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

SoHo was thoroughly looted.

Midtown, 5th avenue etc. I saw the live videos on youtube. It was bad as anywhere else at the time. The Upper Eastside was boarding up storefronts to prepare at some point.

It's not just about the rich areas. Best Buys/Walgreens/Targets were looted often in many big cities. Anywhere can be looted.

iheartthed · #29 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

But Manhattan was looted badly in June, for a few days.

I remember the Bronx getting looted pretty bad in June. Sure, Manhattan might be safer, but the Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are not.

Nothing that happened in NY looked anywhere near as bad as the war zone that Santa Monica turned into.

LA21st · #30 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Nothing that happened in NY looked anywhere near as bad as the war zone that Santa Monica turned into.

You're kidding right? I saw the NYC videos. They were running over cops. NYC reddit was giving out "real" updates, and that place was freaking out for half a week.

iheartthed · #31 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 8:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

You're kidding right? I saw the NYC videos. They were running over cops. NYC reddit was giving out "real" updates, and that place was freaking out for half a week.

Not kidding at all. Santa Monica looked like it was absolute anarchy. It certainly looked worse than NYC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqjuqc0Kk-w

LA21st · #32 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Not kidding at all. Santa Monica looked like it was absolute anarchy. It certainly looked worse than NYC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqjuqc0Kk-w

The NYC live streams are gone. They were brutal, and one captured looters literally driving over police. The Bronx had fires, there were fires in midtown.

As I said, NYC reddit was giving up live updates, and it seemed terrifying. Trying to downplay it is weird. If it wasn't that bad, why where the NYC redditors begging for the police to do something? It was chaos.

iheartthed · #33 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

The NYC live streams are gone. They were brutal, and one captured looters literally driving over police. The Bronx had fires, there were fires in midtown.

As I said, NYC reddit was giving up live updates, and it seemed terrifying. Trying to downplay it is weird. If it wasn't that bad, why where the NYC redditors begging for the police to do something? It was chaos.

I mean... I was here. Many protests went right past my building. And what I saw of Santa Monica was insane. It looked far worse than NYC. They weren't setting people's personal cars on fire in NYC. That's why L.A.'s curfew was more strict than New York's ever was.

LA21st · #34 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I mean... I was here. Many protests went right past my building. And what I saw of Santa Monica was insane. It looked far worse than NYC. They weren't setting people's personal cars on fire in NYC. That's why L.A.'s curfew was more strict than New York's ever was.

Eh, I saw the live stuff in NYC live streams. There were people freaking out on social media.
There WERE CARS ON FIRE. The had police vechicles burning in Brooklyn. NYC looked insane. You just don't want to admit it for some reason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qHmdjvUTaw

In the video they talk and show personal cars being burned. I don't know what to tell you. They show the Cop getting driven over. A different cop being beaten. Fires.

Im not talking about the protestors. Im talking about the looting, that went on late at night.

iheartthed · #35 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

Eh, I saw the live stuff in NYC live streams. There were people freaking out on social media.
There WERE CARS ON FIRE. The had police vechicles burning in Brooklyn. NYC looked insane. You just don't want to admit it for some reason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qHmdjvUTaw

In the video they talk and show personal cars being burned. I don't know what to tell you. They show the Cop getting driven over. A different cop being beaten. Fires.

Im not talking about the protestors. Im talking about the looting, that went on late at night.

Police cars were set on fire in NYC. Not personal cars. In Santa Monica they trashed everything, as I pointed out to you.

I was in NYC the entire time. There was almost zero looting in Brooklyn and Queens. There was a couple of days of looting high-end stores in SoHo. And that one incident in the Bronx. Nothing here looked as bad as what I saw on TV happening in Santa Monica. It's actually a running joke among people who stayed about how disconnected from reality what was shown on TV is from what actually happened here.

LA21st · #36 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Police cars were set on fire in NYC. Not personal cars. In Santa Monica they trashed everything, as I pointed out to you.

I was in NYC the entire time. There was almost zero looting in Brooklyn and Queens. There was a couple of days of looting high-end stores in SoHo. And that one incident in the Bronx. Nothing here looked as bad as what I saw on TV happening in Santa Monica. It's actually a running joke among people who stayed about how disconnected from reality what was shown on TV is from what actually happened here.

Wrong. If you actually watched the video, they point out personal cars being set on fire in NYC.
Live streams during NYC riots were/are reality and it looked as crazy as anywhere. Sorry. I don't remember Santa Monica cops getting beaten. NYC reddit is reality, and they were BEGGING for the national guard/cops/anyone to stop it.

They showed midtown as well, Macys etc.
https://abc7ny.com/macys-looting-mac...tests/6239912/

So it wasn't just SOHO. And the Upper Eastside was preparing for more looting.

You were in NYC the entire time. So one person, in the biggest city, knows whats happening all hours of the night. LMAO. And you're making fun of TV coverage of what happened, yet that's all you reference about Santa Monica? That makes zero sense. Good try though.

iheartthed · #37 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

Wrong. If you actually watched the video, they point out personal cars being set on fire.
Live streams during NYC riots were/are reality and it looked as crazy as anywhere. Sorry.

They showed midtown as well, Macys etc. So it wasn't just SOHO. And the Upper Eastside was preparing for more looting.

Not sure what your point is. Nothing in that video you shared looked as bad as Santa Monica.

LA21st · #38 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Not sure what your point is. Nothing in that video you shared looked as bad as Santa Monica.

The live streams are gone. They showed the real madness. The Bronx video destruction doesnt look as bad? You mean the news channel saying it looked like it got hit by a Tornado? Are you for real??
I don't remember cops in Santa Monica being beaten or driven over.

I already proved you're clueless, so....

You said no personal cars on fire. Wrong. You said only Soho and the Bronx. Wrong. Almost everything you said is incorrect.

iheartthed · #39 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LA21st

The live streams are gone. They showed the real madness.
I don't remember cops in Santa Monica being beaten or driven over.

I already proved you're clueless, so....

You said no personal cars on fire. Wrong. You said only Soho and the Bronx. Wrong. Almost everything you said is incorrect.

Yeah, sure. The live streams are suddenly gone but all these videos showing how fucked up Santa Monica was are still around. It's a conspiracy!

LA21st · #40 Posted **Aug 13, 2020, 9:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Yeah, sure. The live streams are suddenly gone but all these videos showing how fucked up Santa Monica was are still around. It's a conspiracy!

You didnt post a live stream. Most of them in any city are gone. But you've been wrong, anyway. That one video proves you wrong. I could post more, but thats all i needed.

"Bronx neighborhood got looted so bad it's like it got hit by a tornado"

"Eh, fake news."