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New York City strike costing millions in lost tourist, other income
Tourists in New York were sometimes stranded but often upbeat in news accounts as the city coped with a so far short-lived transit strike that limited getting around to taxis, bicycles, walking and hitchhiking.
As of press deadlines, a city judge who already had imposed heavy fines was also threatening union leaders with jail time.
The strike by the 33,000-member Transport Workers Union is illegal under New York state law that bars public employees from walking out.
State Supreme Court Judge Justice Theodore Jones has found the union in contempt of court and fined them $1 million a day.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been urging the unions to go back to the bargaining table.
“The city’s not going to tolerate it,” he said of the strike.
The unions are seeking salary raises, improved health care plans and a stronger pension fund.
What has been the impact of the strike on tourists? News reports say it’s too early to tell.
The strike was an obvious blow to the city’s economy. There was an estimated 40% decline in restaurant business, an 80% decline in museum visitors and a 90% loss of customers at such popular shopping areas as the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn.
The mayor estimated a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars a day in city shopping.
Whatever impact the strike had on tourists, it was far more devastating to residents, many of whom seemed bitter in their condemnation.
“The strike on the nation’s largest public transportation system has forced millions of people to adopt creative ways of getting around — or simply abandon plans all together,” said CNN.com.
Report by David Wilkening
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