Doubt, Worry And Fear In NYC (DER SPIEGEL)

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Sat Sep-12-09 09:25 AM
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Doubt, Worry And Fear In NYC (DER SPIEGEL)

New York Faces Dramatic Consequences of Crisis

The New York municipal government estimated 75,000 jobs would be lost in the financial industry and a further 300,000 elsewhere in New York. So far, about 100,000 have been lost.

By Klaus Brinkbäumer in New York (DER SPIEGEL)

The global financial crisis began in Manhattan, and its effects are being felt far more strongly there than elsewhere. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the situation is critical. Millions are fighting to keep their jobs. Is what is happening in New York today a harbinger of the fate of the rest of the world?

They still remember how things used to be. That's part of the problem. New York's heroes, the men and women who only yesterday considered themselves the knights and conquerors of Manhattan, remember all too well what New York was like in the 1970s -- the era before seven-figure salaries came to the Big Apple.

They remember -- and they see the signs. That's why they're afraid.

Cathy used to be a banker. Today she is homeless and living in Tompkins Square. She thinks about the heroin and the stench. In the 1970s, Cathy had a small apartment not far from here on Orchard Street. It was broken into three times. She remembers the burning cars and broken glass, the plumes of smoke and the cops who shouted "Fuck you!" every time they lashed out.

Read full article here.

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