New York Gritty

New York's iconic yellow taxis never stopped roaming the streets looking for fares during the coronavirus pandemic. Taxi drivers were deemed essential workers, but when the city shut down, their customers disappeared. Already facing a crisis because of competition from Uber and Lyft, licensed taxi drivers and owners saw their incomes dry up. In this crisis, they see an opportunity to reinvent their industry, to restructure debt and return them to a living wage.

As the shutdown of New York's theater district reached the one year mark, the Broadway community could see a light at the end of the tunnel. But it seemed very far off and the road to that light was anything but straight. Over 90,000 jobs depend on the Broadway economy, and those people were anxiously awaiting the return of theatergoers to the Great White Way. Finding a path to a safe and full recovery is proving to be a heavy lift, but one that New Yorkers are confident will be successful. Broadway has survived many crises in the past, but the coronavirus pandemic has been its most challenging.

Broadway is at the core of New York's identity. The theater district is a must see for most of New York's 65 million annual visitors. Yearly ticket sales surpassed $1.8 billion in 2019. Over 12,000 people are directly employed in Broadway theaters. When shows went dark due to the pandemic, those people saw their identity taken away in a heartbeat, along with their ability to earn a living. It's clear that Broadway will be back at some point, but it will be very different for the people on stage and those in the seats.

New York is the city that never sleeps thanks in part to more than 25,000 restaurants and bars. No industry and its supporting economic ecosystem has been devastated more in NYC than the hospitality sector. As many as 50% of those eateries and bars may wind up closing permanently. But across the five boroughs, business owners are finding ways to survive, placing their hope in a roaring 2020's when the pandemic ends.

The coronavirus shutdown paused New York City's soundtrack. One year later there still was no clear answer as to when tens of thousands of musicians could hit play again. Over 58,000 jobs are dependent on live venues in New York. When they were closed, musicians saw their role in society taken away overnight. While some left the city, others found ways to adapt and are sticking it out, waiting for live venues to open again.

Is New York City in a death spiral, or will it mount an epic comeback from the impacts of the pandemic? New York Gritty explores the resiliency of New Yorkers in a time of crisis. Will they find a way to bring their city back from the brink of economic disaster, or has New York been irreversibly changed? The spread of coronavirus transformed the Big Apple in previously unimaginable ways, from shutting down the subway system overnight for the first time to dimming the lights on Broadway indefinitely. Over 1 million jobs were lost across New York during the shutdown. The city faces a projected $13 billion budget shortfall over the next four years. Each of the ten episodes of New York Gritty highlights a different area of the city’s economy and social fabric as host Steve Kastenbaum celebrates the anonymous and famous heroes who keep New York’s magic alive during dark times. The veteran radio journalist explores the looming challenges through the personal stories of his fellow New Yorkers. New York Gritty will premiere on February 16th.