By Michael Ewing 3/20/12 5:58pm

center of the universe

More economic output in its pinky finger than in all of Peoria. (Getty)

Ballin! Times Square Has Bigger Economy Than Pittsburgh

The most heavily trafficked neighborhood in New York also happens to be one of the biggest economic hubs in the United States, according to a recent study. The Times Square Alliance and HR&A Analyst Inc. teamed up on a report on the economic impact of Times Square. The report, which can be downloaded from their website, showcases the dreaded tourist district as one of the largest economic powerhouses in New York and all of the United States. Read More

By The Editors 9/28/11 12:03pm

opinion

An UNmodest Proposal Amidst the Crowded Streets

Most people heave a sigh of resignation when the calendar turns from August to September. But Manhattan residents have a special reason to dread the approach of summer’s end. As routines return to normal, as the pace of commerce resumes its hectic pace, as deadlines loom once again, the world descends upon Manhattan for the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly.

The result: Extreme chaos, frustrating delays, jagged nerves and wasted time. Portions of midtown and downtown are turned into armed camps to accommodate the schedules of the world’s leaders, a fair portion of whom attend the session just for the sheer fun of insulting the U.S., Israel and the West.

This is the burden of being the capital of the world. For the most part, Manhattanites understand that sharing their island with the globe’s leaders requires patience, sacrifice and a certain degree of resignation. Read More

By Drew Grant 9/15/11 2:39pm

Tourist trade

New York Pride (via CafePress)

New York Loves "I Love New York" Logo

For anyone who lives in the city, the iconic “I Love New York” logo usually brings to mind millions of tourists streaming into Times Square like so many locusts descending on a neon crop field. There are entire stores in the city dedicated to selling products featuring the image of a heart where the l-word should be. (For a visual example, look at the image to your left.) Read More

By The Editors 7/05/11 8:22pm

opinion

Summer In The City: The Tourist Trade-Off

If Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, Independence Day is the unofficial start of the summer vacation season. With the school year over at last, families are getting ready for their long-planned holidays. Other New Yorkers are fleeing to the Hamptons, Cape Cod or the Jersey Shore for weekend respites from the city’s Read More

By Laura Kusisto 11/08/10 6:02pm

Retail

Party Time in Times Square! Retail Rents Soar

Think twice before you elbow a tourist in Times Square. Rents in the wanna-be hotspot just soared 21 percent, thanks to the city’s tourism boom.

Retailers in the area are now paying upward of $1,700 a square foot annually, according to a quarterly report from the Real Estate Board of New York that came out this morning. That’s Read More

By Nate Freeman 9/16/10 6:56pm

Enough With the DVF: Model Wears $10 Tourist Tee

Yesterday, the Odd Molly show at The Studio at Lincoln Center featured some elaborate outfits, such as long dresses accentuated by frills and tattered gloves, among many other complicated looks. Obviously labored over for a while, it was a high-end approximation of what Parisian street urchans would have worn in a Victor Hugo novel. And Read More

By Emily Geminder 5/12/10 2:44pm

The Street Where You Live: The Bowery, Scrubbed

The disreputable ghosts of Boweries past-the gangsters, vagabonds and punk rockers who saw the street shape—shift over the past century and a half—likely have more in common with each other than with the citizens of the Bowery lately. The last few years’ barrage of the new (new luxury condos, new cuisine, the boxy Read More