Are We Now Trying to Attract Tourists?

Days before its entry into Phase 4 Reopening, NY Governor Cuomo said that NYC couldn’t have any extra indoor activity or be allowed to reopen its malls or cultural institutions. These were the sorts of things any other region have gotten at this phase.

Okay, that’s fine. We weren’t allowed to have indoor dining either.

We’ve been through all the reasons on this site as to the whys and hows of it not being health-wise safe…and it’s all cool with yours truly.

So riddle me this Batman: Why was the Empire State Building (ESB) allowed to reopen and NOT the Metropolitan Museum of Art or other institutions?

Let’s see. A locale like the MET, affordable (FREE) to city residents, would’ve had its vast amount of interior square footage to offer up to visitors – admittedly, at a limited capacity.

The ESB’s prices for its observatory run at $42 for adults and $36 for kids. Hasn’t the Mayor gone on about how financially burdened everyone here is?

Is Governor Cuomo hoping to pump up the city’s economy with tourists? – since, let’s face it, who here in the city doesn’t associate this landmark with out-of-towners?

Yet for the past two weeks, he’s been stating, ad nauseam, how NYC’s COVID-19 rebound would come from outside its borders.

Someone Please Explain this!