NYC is once again the Capital of the World

Real Estate Weekly, June 30, 1999 by Faith Hope Consolo

In one of Ernest Hemingway's short stories, he coined the phrase "The Capital of the World." Eight months ago, I wrote that New York City, after years of down time, was well on its way to rebuilding itself into just that. And that is what has happened. More than ever, it is the financial, commercial, entertainment, retail, communications and intellectual center of the planet.

In the past few years, the whole nation has done well economically. New York was a little behind, but has now caught up. Things are swell.

There has never been a time when New York didn't make an impression: the first explorers commented on what a marvelous land it was - that the air was like wine and that everything sparkled. Since then, just about everyone has seemed to have an opinion about the City, and not always as complimentary as the preceding.

But, as I stated previously, due to the efforts of the city government and the BIDs business improvement districts - to improve the city as a whole, a lot of the old tarnish has been polished away, and the City sparkles today as it never did before. Most opinions nowadays are very positive.

Consider Grand Central Station - now that really sparkles! I wonder if it looked as good as it does now even when it was brand new. When finished, there will be 170,000 square feet of retail space, almost double to what it was previously.

Other great spit-and-polish jobs are the 42nd Street/Times square Redevelopment, due to debut before the millennium, and the revival of Rockefeller Center, with all the new stores opening in and around the area.

Neighborhoods which were not even considered before are opening up, such as Nolita, with all the delightful new shops, like so many brightly colored treasure boxes lining the streets.

As for what is imminent: the Alexander's block has disappeared, thank goodness. In its place, what? Perhaps a new hotel? Or an office building? Or even a brand-new department store, the first in a long, long time... A beautiful new office building to replace the poor, old Coliseum, and a marvelous tower rising above the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Because of all the wonderful things that have already happened and the promise of what the near future holds, New York City has become the center of the retail universe. Of course, there were other factors as well: the strong national economy, the strength of the dollar, incredible tourism - everyone from all over the world wants to visit New York - the City has so much for one to do, to see, to eat, to shop, to be overwhelmed and impressed by.

In big cities, shopping is often a ritual unto itself. The Internet hasn't taken over. Therefore, big domestic retailers are rediscovering urban centers like New York and are placing less emphasis on suburban sprawl.

Because of the downgrading of the Asian markets, many European manufacturers and retailers are seeking new consumers, preferably in urban areas in this country, to replace those lost in the Orient.

Last year, people thought things couldn't get much better. This year, so far, they have been proven wrong: things have gotten a lot better. The rest of 1999 will probably be the same.

And what of the more distant future? Experts are saying that things are going to be good for at least another 10 or 15 years well into the beginning of the next century.

The baby boomers who are creating our economy right now won't stop booming for at least that long.

The rest of the world is starting to recover, which is reassuring in that this country's economy won't be so liable to get caught in the undertow of other nations' difficulties.

We should use this time to strengthen, build and prosper, so that when and if less fortunate times arrive, we'll be able to hold on until the circle starts spinning upward again. After all, this is New York, and as a former Mayor once said, "If the World was flooded, New Yorkers would learn to breathe under water."

Faith Hope Consolo, Senior Managing Director, Garrick-Aug Worldwide Ltd.