More than 160 business leaders, including executives at Citigroup Inc., Mastercard Inc. and Nasdaq Inc., have signed a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio warning of New York City’s deteriorating condition in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and growing anxiety over public safety, cleanliness and other quality-of-life issues. In a letter sent Thursday, the leaders said the pandemic has devastated the city’s economy, causing high levels of unemployment. They urged the Democratic mayor to restore essential services that have been cut from the budget that he and the New York City Council recently approved. The budget reduced or eliminated services like garbage pickups and graffiti removal, as well as shifted nearly $1 billion in funding away from the New York Police Department. The city also had 222 shooting incidents during those four weeks, more than double the 90 shootings a year earlier.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 11, 2020 00:07 UTC