Real New Yorkers: Nelson Braff (Part 3)
Nelson Braff discusses his support for first responders, the perception of crime, and the nuance that will be required to solve the current problems facing NYC.
Nelson: I’ve always liked politics but never wanted to become as active as I have been over the last few years.
Jason: Some of us get dragged into it because we care about the city so much. For many of us, it feels like we had no choice but to get involved.
Nelson: That’s right. I got very active in supporting Eric Adams early in his campaign. Firstly, because I like him, and secondly because of the dysfunctional homeless hotels. I had lunch with him one day, and he clearly understood the city and the problems we were facing. As time went on it became apparent that he wants to do the right thing but unfortunately, his hands seem tied politically on certain issues. I’d still say that he absolutely has what it takes to restore NYC to its former greatness, but my first concern was really who was going to bring public safety back so I could comfortably re-open my business. My street was, at the time, too dangerous and I wasn’t comfortable subjecting my staff (or my guests) to danger. To be frank, the homeless hotel across the street from my restaurant brought the entire block to its knees, it crippled us. Looking back at it, it was incredible that a government decision could cause so much havoc to a business district and then have the nerve to raise real estate taxes the following year.
Jason: Have you noticed the current City Council’s attitude toward wealthy people? They make it seem like wealthy people are NYC’s biggest and only problem. How do you think this affects the recovery of NYC?
Nelson: Yes. It’s the same consortium of people who seem to resent the wealthy that also support closing the prisons and defunding the police. Strangely enough, these people who regularly commit so much time and energy to hating the rich don’t commit the same time or energy to crime victims in their own districts. God forbid your daughter got stabbed on the subway and you complain about it: Somehow, in their eyes, you’re the problem. They are so deeply committed to their own ideas that nothing can deter them from their mission to achieve their utopia.
Jason: I agree. Not long ago we had a vigil for Michelle Go after she was pushed in front of a subway in Times Square. I was hoping that tragedy was going to be a tipping point that forced the city into action, but unfortunately, today doesn’t feel that much different. there was another subway pushing in the UWS this week. It feels like these types of violent crimes happen so frequently that we have finally become numb.
Nelson: Yes, and if you say crime is a problem, they attack you. You’re far-right, you’re racist, Republican, entitled, etc. To the point where they will lie to your face about it. Like when Gov. Hochul said: “We have seen no evidence that bail reform has led to the increase of more crime.” Really? Is she serious?
Jason: The joke I keep making is that she just can’t hear our screams from her helicopter.
Nelson: Does she actually believe the far-left narrative about crime? Goldman Sachs and a group of other large businesses wrote a letter to Deblasio saying their return to the office was no longer about COVID but that they didn’t feel comfortable forcing their employees to return because of public safety. I believe his response was “Anyone who doesn’t want to be here should leave.” Thankfully, Adams brought the stupidity of this comment to light during his campaign.
Jason: What are your thoughts on the recent report saying Wall Street now has fewer people employed than at any time in the last 33 years and that those jobs account for 23% of the city’s tax revenue?
Nelson: The city is broke now. They ran out of federal funds. If it were a private business, it would be forced into involuntary bankruptcy. Crime and the erosion of the tax base should be the priorities of every elected official. When the City Council and Albany steer the city towards their extreme agenda, those decisions create more government dependence and, in many ways, that’s what socialism is. Right? Deblasio was a proud socialist, he never minced his words. Socialists like him could care less about the problems caused by an eroded tax base. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle. As people leave the expenses don’t ever go down, only the revenues go down.
I’m glad to see Eric Adams forcing every agency to figure out how to get their work done with a smaller budget. That’s exactly what I would try to do. But the added pressures that come from staying here while taxes went up also incentivizes those of us who stayed to finally throw in the towel and leave.
Jason: Are you seeing a lot of people in your personal network moving to Florida or their 2nd homes and never coming back?
Nelson: Yes. I went from seeing several of our regular customers twice a week to once every month or so.
Jason: Have you noticed how NYC’s politicians really demonize tourism and claim that it doesn’t serve residents? Tourism was an $80.3 billion dollar industry in 2019. In many ways, it became a mainstream of NYC’s ever-changing economy after we exported all of our manufacturing jobs overseas.
Nelson: I don’t know if tourism was ever not important. The biggest industries in NYC were always finance, real estate, entertainment, and tourism. Maybe Adams’ push for technology will also gain momentum. A better way to look at it is that New York isn’t New York without tourism. It’s part of our DNA as a city. The reason all of the hotels are in the center of Manhattan is that’s where the tourists want to be. Manhattan is built from the center out. Tribeca doesn’t drive the city. It never did. Midtown doesn’t just drive the economy for other NYC neighborhoods, it drives the economy for towns all over upstate, New Jersey, and Long Island. That’s the true measure of the economic engine that is midtown Manhattan. Without the hotels being filled, midtown feels dangerous, it feels unsustainable, Broadway shows are really struggling, and I’m convinced part of that is the travel restrictions from overseas.
The idea that politicians wrongly justify the increase in crime as only a perception of increased crime works against our recovery. First of all, we all know that the crime increase is real. But even if it wasn’t, even if it was only the perception of crime that was making Goldman Sachs and others write a collective letter of concern to DeBlasio’s office, that alone could be a reason tourists decide not to visit. That’s potentially a huge problem that wrecks local businesses and slows our recovery. Having said all of this, since Adams has started to clean up the streets as best it can be done, it seems midtown is once again packed and vibrant. I’ve not seen the newest tourism statistics, but my eyes tell me we are doing better.
Jason: The first time I met you, you described yourself as a Democratic centrist. Over the last year, I saw moderate Democrats get villainized by the left. They really got slaughtered during the elections, and then the progressives proceeded to dance on their graves. Both the pols and the media let it be known that moderates were not welcome. Is there anything you’d like to say about this current political landscape?
Nelson: Why are people like me and you as verbal as we are? What I have is a desire to go back to a time when everyone had a seat at the table and got a chance to be heard and treated with respect. Let extremists on both sides have their voice heard and thoughts considered. Then hopefully we can move past these extreme views and move forwards, together. It’s always better to know what people really think, especially when those people make decisions that affect all of us.
What I don’t like to see is extremist views being the decision maker as opposed to a voice to be considered. It goes back to something Stephen Harper once said: “The job of every government (in order) is security, prosperity, and morality, but unfortunately the Democrats have it inverted.” This obviously doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for morality. Nor does it mean that Republicans, particularly the far-right, have it figured out either. However, NYC is not where the far-right wields any influence.
You used to be able to count on people for having a basic understanding of knowing the difference between right and wrong, even if you didn’t agree with them on every issue. Maybe it’s because many now allow cancel culture to silence important conversations that must be had, and in a way, this forces people to pretend to support bad ideas because speaking against them is too costly.
In NY, there even seems to be a battle within each party, with moderates fighting extremists. Recently, Gov Hochul (pretty extreme herself) was unable to have her choice for chief judge of NYS even get as far as a full State Senate vote as he was blocked by the extremists in her own party. She picked Justice LaSalle, a well-respected jurist. For the first time in about 50 years, the governor’s choice was not allowed to go before a full State Senate vote because, as Brad Hoylman said in justifying his “no” vote in committee, “We need a chief Justice who will stand up for defendants”. This guy actually made that comment. Do people even know who and what they’re voting for in these down-ballot elections? How about saying something like “we need a fair, impartial, qualified jurist who will apply the equally”? This is nuts!! The extreme far-left in NY seems to totally run the show. Now Gov. Hochul is being victimized by their extremism.
This stuff is not normal. We shouldn’t force all of society to pretend to agree with bad ideas because some fringe group made it trendy.
Jason: It’s hard to imagine that within our lifetime there was an era where Democrats and Republicans agreed on almost everything except abortion and how the budget was spent.
Nelson: There used to be so many topics that everyone just knew and agreed on, forever, until recently. Bad guys should be in jail. We care about crime victims. Police risk their lives to protect citizens from criminals. Adults always wanted the next generation of kids to do better. There was underlying respect for authority, adults, teachers, and cops. A few generations ago most of society didn’t hate cops, it was considered an honorable job worthy of total respect. My wife and I have preached that to our kids.
Jason: Do you believe that all first responders have gotten a bad rap over the last few years?
Nelson: I do. I’ve always been very supportive of first responders in any way I could. I’m actually being honored soon by an NYPD organization called With Arms Wide Open that supports special needs children of NYPD officers. They really are a wonderful organization. Last year’s award recipient was Steven Van Zandt, and before that, Pat Lynch. My support for first responders goes back to 1978 when an officer was murdered doing a good deed. It was between Christmas and New Year’s Eve and he saw a car that was double parked and didn’t feel like it was right to give them a ticket. So he went inside the business to tell them and it turned out to be a getaway car and he was shot and killed. His name was David Guttenberg, I went to college with his daughter who was a close friend. Recently they named a street after him. I remember going to the shiva house and seeing all the police, and the grieving family, and asking myself: “Why? What did he do wrong?” I understand that death happens to everyone. Accidents happen, people die young from cancer, and life is very unfair sometimes. I get it. But criminals take it upon themselves to make the decision of who dies, and that never sat well with me. They’re not God. My dear friend Tommy Lasorda, god rest his soul, perfectly articulated how I feel about first responders: “There’s nothing I won’t do for someone who runs toward something so I can run away from something.”
Jason: This has been a great conversation. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Nelson: Whether we like it or not, we need to start taking elections more seriously. They really do have consequences. We get what we vote for! Divisive extremism perhaps makes for entertaining television, but it makes for lousy politics and poor government. We need to support candidates who are open-minded and will engage in the nuanced conversations needed to solve today’s very complicated environment. Voting for a “D” an “R” or even an “I” seems kinda crazy to me. That’s effectively allowing others to vote for them. Listen to the candidates and support those that seem open, willing to compromise, and who, tho you may not agree with everything, you believe come from a good place. Enough with the shouting, name-calling, and extremists. We deserve better but only if we demand better and elect better.
If you would like to get involved in any of the organizations I support, please consider donating to any of the following charities:
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*To learn more about Nelson Braff, please click here to read part 1 and part 2.