New York City is about to host the biggest sporting event on the planet — the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Over 1.2 million fans will flock to the tristate area expecting American greatness at its best, bringing $3.3 billion in economic activity and supporting 26,000 local jobs.
It’s potentially a once-in-a-generation economic windfall for the city.
But instead of rolling out the welcome mat, City Hall is doing everything possible to bury the Big Apple’s hosting abilities.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council won’t temporarily loosen strict local rules on home-share rentals like Airbnb, limiting places for visitors to stay in Gotham — and inviting New Jersey to eat New York’s lunch.
Meanwhile, thousands of hotel rooms have disappeared from the tourist market in New York City, new hotel construction has slowed to a crawl, and the city’s powerful hotel union is threatening a strike that could collide with the tournament.
New York attracts massive crowds under ordinary circumstances: Last year Gotham saw over 64 million visitors, 175,000 a day on average.
This summer will be different.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the New York Post
______________________
Santiago Vidal Calvo is a Cities policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute.
Photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images
