[gundas]

There is another distinct possibility that no one has mentioned, perhaps because it doesn't get a lot of press outside of the city--some businesses are suffering because many of the protestors are not buying food, period.

As TJ mentioned, there is a kitchen that serves up food to the protestors. Located in Brooklyn, they cook up what they can from donated food and truck it in to the protest site. Others do buy food in the area, and some businesses in the immediate vicinity have adjusted prices down in hopes of increasing traffic. HOWEVER, there have also been multiple, and repeated, reports of protestors demanding free food from local businesses. Some businesses have had to increase security because of belligerent individuals. Other food vendors and food carts have moved away from the area for security reasons. Some protestors have gotten violent with employees over a lack of willingness to provide free food and/or restroom access. And these have not been isolated incidents. Perhaps they are "1%" of the protestors that get the airtime, but it hasn't happened just once. There are certainly individuals who routinely "mooch" off the protest, and perhaps they are the ones causing the trouble. But regardless of who is causing the trouble, the mere fact that these confrontations have been reported IS enough to keep some people away. Friends of mine have had to alter routes to get to work, not because of fear but because of accessibility. There are those, however, who will alter routes out of concern. Either way....lessened foot traffic = lessened business. Pretty simple, yes? In that neighborhood, in particular, food business is largely from two customer bases: corporate catering and foot traffic. There are enough restaurants around that people will rarely make the effort to go to one establishment with hindered accessibility if another one is readily available--unless they really, really, REALLY like one particular place.

Amid reports last week of protestors relieving themselves in the streets, an individual involved in the encampment responded with "We wouldn't have to if local businesses let us use their restrooms.". They don't seem to understand that, while they have the ability to protest if they'd like, others do not have the obligation to provide for them. Brookfield Properties does not have the obligation to set aside park regulations simply because people want to protest. Local restaurants do not have an obligation to provide free food simply because some protestors think that all debt should be erased and college educations should be free. Not everything in the world is free, and the sooner they realize this, the better. The sense of entitlement does not suit them well, and hurts their cause among those looking at the movement with a critical, rather than emotional, eye.

As for the prices listed, those are comparable to other options in that neighborhood. At my local bodega (which has the cheapest milk around to give you a simple price comparison), a bagel with cream cheese and jelly is $1.50. Traveling to the Financial District and seeing the listed increase is not a huge surprise. They charge that because businesspeople in the neighborhood will pay it. Very simple.

As for the assertion that

1. Tourist season is over: While the weather is cooling off, true, have you heard of a few things known as Thanksgiving and Christmas? Have you been in NYC during either of these time periods? Specifically, have you been to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and midtown in general during these time periods? If so, you'd be the LAST to say the tourist season is over and numbers are "back to normal". The demographics of tourists may change, and the number may lessen slightly, but not to the extent that business DROPS 30%. To give you an idea, my business' numbers usually INCREASE by 20-30% around this time. While the warmer weather in summer can bring additional tourists, the sweltering weather also keeps some away. Certain times in the summer can be eerily quiet for exactly this reason.

2. "the number of customers for this resturant [sic] has subsided to normal Fall/Winter numbers": Do you know what his customer count is? Do you know what "normal" numbers should be? It would be wise to know such things before making such a widesweeping assertion.

3. Trump is a whiner: That may well be. But he also has a voice to which people listen. Businesses have been complaining about the barricades for weeks, to little avail. Trump complains on their behalf and what happens? Oh, right...accessibility opens up. Funny how that works. Unfortunate, perhaps, but hardly surprising.

And on top of all this, let's be honest. The vast majority of tourists in that area are not spending time in restaurants past barricades in the protest zone. They take a look at Ground Zero, spend a few hours terrorizing shoppers at Century 21 across the street and then go home.