Businesses and other activities have returned to normal in New York City, which was highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but one aspect of the city has lost its old glimmer. While earlier, New York stayed awake 24 hours, and hence, has the sobriquet ‘the city that never sleeps’ associated with it, now, crowds in the markets dwindle after 10 PM, with gyms, restaurants, bars, night clubs, pool games, and cafeterias, all closing early. Some stores are shut down at 10 PM only, while some restaurants remain open till 1 or 2 AM only.
Even the subway trains, which operate 24 hours, are not attracting the same number of commuters as earlier times. There are multiple reasons behind NYC sleeping early now. Many businessmen are worried about drunk customers visiting late at night. While some employers are worried about their staffers’ safety. In some stores and restaurants, business was limited during the pandemic, and they have still not returned to the normal levels of business. Many hotels and restaurants are not able to find the required number of employees.
While in the rest of the USA, the jobs which were lost during the pandemic have come back, in New York, things are getting back to normal at a slower pace. As restaurants and hotels were attracting lesser visitors, employees were laid-off, and now, many such posts are vacant, and employees for night shifts cannot be found. Additionally, the pay for such jobs is lesser when compared to other jobs.
Nevertheless, James Parrott, Director, Center for Economic and Financial Policy, does not agree with the argument of a lack of employees, as per Parrott, there is no lack of people looking out for employment and it is possible that those people are not able to reach the right places to seek for jobs.
