According to a new study published on Tuesday, the massive exodus of New York City in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis has cost $ 34 billion in lost revenue.
About 3.57 million people fled New York City between January 1 and December 7 this year, and were replaced by about 3.5 million people with lower average incomes, according to point out the results of Unacast.
This means that the Big Apple lost 70,000 people during the pandemic.
“The exodus isn’t as big as people have been talking about,” said Thomas Walle, executive director and co-founder of Unacast, a location analysis company. “Perhaps the biggest impact is how the population changes and how the demographics change.”
To reach its conclusions, Unacast analyzed anonymized cell phone location data to analyze the impact COVID has had on three neighborhoods: Williamsburg, Astoria, and Tribeca.
Tribeca, with a population of 20,000, was the most successful of the three, with a net loss of 3,500 residents, which equated to a net loss of $ 1 billion.
More than 8,000 residents who came out of the hood with heels in midtown Manhattan earned an average income of about $ 140,000, Walle said. The typical person who settled in the area earned an average of $ 82,000.
“Downstream, there are clear implications,” Unacast warned in its report, which noted falling revenues. “This means [residents] less can be allowed in terms of mortgages, rents, restaurants, retailers and other consumer spending. As a result, shops, etc. that they are more accustomed to serving high-end customers will likely lose market share
most affordable brands.
“Where Chris of Chanel and Ruth once reigned, H&M and an Outback can find a new one
customer generation “.
In Williamsburg, home to about 80,000 people, about 19,000 people moved in on Sept. 7, representing a loss of $ 1.3 billion in revenue – “one of the most affected individual neighborhoods in New York we examined,” he said. to Find Unacast |
The Mecca of Brooklyn hipsters, however, gained 13,000 people, resulting in a net loss of about $ 330 million.
“This is a large discretionary expense lost in a small community with many local brands currently showing few signs of resistance or recovery,” the report said.
Some 18,000 fled Astoria and cost the neighborhood about $ 1.292 billion in lost revenue. But 14,000 new residents flocked to the Queens neighborhood, placing Astoria “ahead of the curve compared to Williamsburg,” according to the findings.
The store and restaurants have also had considerable success under COVID-19 security restrictions this year, the company said.
There was 33 percent less retail foot traffic compared to last year and 34 percent fewer people in restaurants.
Unacast blamed these figures on new residents earning less.
“The popular interpretation is that this is related to pedestrian traffic, but a tertiary cause is the net outflow of neighborhood populations from the city everywhere, along with a reduction in average income and therefore a reduction in purchasing power. “, he said.
The Unacast analysis comes after apartment vacancies in Manhattan reached a 14-year high last month, with more than 16,000 vacancies.
“The big question is,‘ How do real estate and retail fit particularly well? Walle said.
With publishing cables