A6 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020million visited the city in 2019, with many
making their way to a show, the New Year’s
Eve ball drop or to a little patch of sidewalk
just to stand beneath all those lights. That
level of tourism is not likely to return until
2024, according to one forecast.
Times Square is now a microcosm of the
city’s struggle to survive the pandemic, as
restaurants and businesses close and resi-
dents lose their jobs. There are no crowds to
shield and disguise the population of home-
less people living there on the street.
“Times Square has always been New
York on steroids, so whatever is happening
in New York City is amplified in Times
Square,” Mr. Tompkins said.
Beginning in August, overnight counts
tallied by Times Square Alliance reported
that the number of people sleeping on the
street in Times Square was roughly double
the 2019 levels, and many are “much more
aggressive with passers-by or are ignoring
social distancing,” Mr. Tompkins said.
Despite the shortage of tourists, Ruth
Njuguna, a tour bus agent, still searched for
likely customers, passing out pamphlets
and wearing a placard around her neck
bearing her name, “Miss Ruth.”
“People came from all over the world to
Times Square, and now they’re just not
coming,” she said.
Before the pandemic, willing tourists
would buy up to 100 tickets a day, Ms. Nju-
guna said, which allowed her to support her
two children in the Bronx and send some
money home to relatives in Kenya. Now,
there are days when she may sell merely
two or three tickets.
Visitors have slowly returned, espe-
cially on nights and weekends. And the dis-
trict has re-emerged occasionally as a cen-
tral gathering spot for events such as Black
Lives Matter protests and celebrations af-
ter President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s vic-
tory was declared.
Still, the district feels empty by Times
Square standards. About 108,000 pedestri-
ans pass through the area each day com-
pared with 380,000 before the pandemic.
Over the extended Thanksgiving weekend,
Times Square had a third of the usual foot
traffic, the alliance said.
Mr. Tompkins said it was still unclear
whether December would bring a holiday
bump, given the pandemic restrictions.
The office towers largely remain empty,
and most of the hotels in the area have
closed, at least temporarily, including the
478-room Hilton Times Square, as have
stores like Old Navy and the U.S. Polo Asso-
ciation. Restaurants such as Planet Holly-
wood, the Hard Rock Cafe and Dave and
Buster’s have not yet reopened.
From March to the end of October, at
least 26 of the 46 hotels in the Times Square
area shut, at least temporarily, the alliance
said, and 39 of the 151 retailers closed, as did
84 of the 162 restaurants. Of the two multi-
plexes on 42nd Street, the Regal has closed
permanently and the AMC Empire 25, the
top-grossing theater in the country, re-
mains closed because of city restrictions on
movie theaters. The annual New Year’s Eve
ball drop, which draws crowds of more than
one million, will be held without live specta-
tors this year. Broadway theaters will re-
main closed at least until June, and few be-
lieve any substantial comeback in the area
will happen before that.
Formerly known as Longacre Square,
Times Square was renamed in 1904 after
The New York Times moved its headquar-
ters to a newly erected building at what is
now One Times Square, the site of the annu-
al New Year’s Eve ball drop.
After World War I, it became a cultural
hub full of theaters, music halls and upscale
hotels, as well as the city’s main gathering
spot, but by the 1960s, the area had grown
increasingly seedy — rife with sex shops,
peep shows and adult theaters. It became
synonymous with the city’s decline through
the 1970s and 1980s as crime rates soared,
before city and state officials in the 1990s
took over the revitalization of 42nd Street.
Now, Times Square may feel sketchier
without the festive crowds, but the sharp
decline in visitors and workers has actually
caused a drop in crime.
The total number of major crimes in the
Midtown South precinct, which covers
much of Times Square, has declined so far
this year by nearly 22 percent compared
with the same time period last year. With
fewer visitors, the number of grand larce-
nies, which often involve electronics and
credit cards, dropped from 1,718 last year to
1,026 so far this year.
The pandemic came down hardest onWith tourists largely
absent, street vendors,
gift shops and restau-
rants have struggled to
make ends meet.
While much of New York City has started to come back to life, Times Square remains a shadow of its pre-pandemic self.If There Are No Crowds,
A neighborhood that’s now eerily devoid
of something as essential to its identity as
flashing billboards and burning pretzels.
From Page A66.6 million
Visitors to New York City in
2019, a record number.
2024
Year that tourism in New York
City is expected to return to
that level.
26
Hotels that have closed tem-
porarily since March.
52%
Of the 162 restaurants in
Times Square have closed.
80%
Of the businesses on Times
Square’s anchor block, 42nd
Street between Seventh and
Eighth Avenues, are now shut
or inactive.
Tracking an OutbreakNew York City