Sarah Jessica Parker joins business leaders demanding Bill de Blasio fix NYC

Sarah Jessica Parker is among the more than 170 New York business leaders who are urging Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo to fix New York City and urgently boost their COVID-19 recovery response. 

The Sex in the City star and 176 other NYC business leaders sent a letter on Friday to de Blasio and Cuomo warning that up to a third of the city’s small businesses may permanently close if a plan isn’t put in place. 

Parker runs her SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker Collection – a shoe and accessories business – from New York and is known to frequently greet customers in her flagship Manhattan store.

The 55-year-old paid a visit to the Midtown store as recently as Thursday. 

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‘As the first place in America to be struck hard by the coronavirus and the first to successfully manage its containment, New York should step up to chart the course for recovery of urban centers everywhere,’ the letter sent by the Partnership for New York City said.

‘We urge you to convene a multi-sector leadership initiative, which can call upon the broadest possible range of resources and expertise to develop plans, policies and implementation strategies for how cities will overcome the challenges created by the pandemic and re-emerge stronger, fairer and more resilient than ever.

‘We are fully prepared to support this effort and believe it is critical to ensuring a vibrant future for New York and the nation.’

Dozens of other top business leaders signed the letter, including Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon, Lyft co-founder Josh Zimmer, Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette, Con Edison CEO John McAvoy and Mastercard boss Ajay Banga.

‘By all measures, New York City was at the peak of its economic powers on March 1, 2020, when the first coronavirus case was diagnosed. A report issued in July by the Partnership for New York City calculates that, in less than five months, the metropolitan region lost a million jobs and that up to a third of the city’s small businesses may permanently close,’ the letter read.

‘The region’s affordable housing deficit is projected to increase by at least 150,000 units. Economic losses, like health impacts, will be most profoundly felt by low wage workers and in communities of color. 

‘The report argues that the city will need to offer a new value proposition to residents and businesses that focuses on affordability, opportunity and innovation.’ 

It comes after the group sent a similar letter to de Blasio last week demanding that he address public safety and fix ‘quality of life issues’ that have left the Big Apple struggling to recover from one of the harshest lockdowns in the country. 

De Blasio appeared to brush off their letter when he tweeted: ‘Let’s be clear: To restore city services and save jobs, we need long term borrowing and a federal stimulus – we need these leaders to join the fight to move the City forward.’ 

The letter comes as fewer than 10 per cent of New York City’s office employees have returned to public workplaces, jeopardizing the city’s financial health as office buildings account for almost 10 per cent of total annual revenue.

Optimists hoped that the city’s one million office workers would return to skyscrapers as the pandemic progressed, but reports show that is simply not the case. 

The ‘Return to Office Survey’ released by Partnership for New York City found that just eight per cent of staffers have returned to the office as of mid-August.

Employers have lowered their expectations since May by 33 per cent, with only 26 per cent of surveyed employees scheduled to return by the year’s end.

That number jumps just over half – or 54 per cent – for a July 2021 return date.