A Call to Restore NYC to Its Iconic Glory

Many of us have called New York City home for as long as we can remember. Our parents were either native New Yorkers or landed on our shores and made the city their home. The public schools we attended are still standing. We pass them by and can point to the windows of our classrooms where we sat with our friends and got world class educations.  The stores we shopped at are gone, replaced with modern supermarkets carrying products from all over the globe. But our beloved metropolis is now in the greatest danger that far overshadows the threats to it during WWII and 9-ll.  Its citizens are leaving in droves. Some never to return again.

We understand and agree that the reasons for this mass exodus are based on reality combined with fear. The Chinese virus has taken a heavy toll on New Yorkers. Prisons have been largely emptied out, the homeless have even taken over the posh Upper West Side. The elite stores have been vandalized and many Mom and Pop shops have closed forever. Our schools are shuttered. Our world class NYPD has seen its morale demolished by poor judgment on the part of city officials. We can go on and on.

But as bleak as the last paragraph was in describing the situation, we are calling on, and even pleading to our Jewish brethren to remain in the city and join together to keep it alive with their basic New York strength, courage, ingenuity, tolerance and resilience. Consider it the bottom of the ninth inning, we’re up at bat, losing and we have to score big to win. Many of our Jewish fellow citizens have “escaped” to the Hamptons, New Jersey, Florida and the Catskills. They may or may not return, but those of us who don’t have the were-with-all to leave must join in the battle to save our city. The Londoners did it during the blitz and even the demolished cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have all been restored to pre-war greatness. Our citizens must work together to demand of our leaders, local, city and state to finally focus on restoring the services to our city that we have always taken for granted.

 

They must understand that the city is in crisis. The Department of Sanitation must now operate 24/7 to clean up the filth in the streets. The NYPD must be treated as professionals and backed by our administration to crack down on the now out of control crime that threatens each and every one of us. The subways must be revamped to clean out the homeless and make the system safe and efficient. The schools have to be re-opened with the safety of students and staff at a premium.

And finally our Mayor must evidence a sense of reality that the city is losing its top taxpayers and commercial interests to safer, healthier and more efficiently run urban and suburban areas. Everyone has a responsibility during this crisis to rise above and fight for our survival. And we need those who have fled to consider returning to join in the reclamation of our beloved City, the city that made us all what we are today. NYC…we love you.