The soul of New York bounces back, in the form of restaurants, arts, tourism and gaming

Masters return to museums and stages

Forty Van Gogh paintings will travel from as far as Amsterdam and as close as the Museum of Modern Art to form a thematic show about the artist's portrayal of cypress trees at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

On Broadway, Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Chastain will play Nora Heimer in a new production of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House set to open during the spring, as will Aaron Sorkin's version of Camelot at the Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Broadway's attendance and gross sales finally surpassed 90% of prepandemic levels at the end of 2022. — Cara Eisenpress

Restaurants hold onto sidewalk tables

A temporary Open Restaurants program enters its fourth year as long-delayed legislation permitting eateries to make permanent use of outdoor space continues to stall.

The legislation has been embroiled in debate over which city agency, the Department of Transportation or the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, will oversee the program and whether the program infringes on city residents' rights.

"At this time, there is no vote currently scheduled for an updated bill; my office is always open to continuing to engage with those interested in sharing their opinions," said Council Member Marjorie Velázquez in a statement to Crain's. "Once the bill has been finalized, a date to vote will be made available on the City Council website."

The temporary scenario may meet continued resistance from residents of restaurant-heavy areas.

"It is terrifying to see what's under the sheds — it's gross," said Leslie Clark, a member of the West Village Residents Association, which is against the program. — Jasmine Sheena

1 in 5 travelers will come for business once again

City business travel and tourism will continue to increase in 2023, boosting a hospitality industry that once relied on hotel stays, corporate-card lunches and extravagant holiday events to thrive.

Vijay Dandapani, president of the Hotel Association of New York City, predicted it would take business travel still another year—until 2024—to fully recover.

"The key factor in turning around business travel into New York City is to resume many of the conferences in the past that have still not come back," said Yariv Ben-Ari, a partner in Herrick Feinstein's real estate practice. "These are key drivers in bringing business travel to New York." — J.S.

Smoke shops open, filling empty retail space

New York's rollout of its legal recreational marijuana program gained a ton of momentum in late 2022, with the first dispensary opening just before the new year.

Officials selected the construction and design teams to build the dispensaries and approved the retailers to operate them in November, and the nonprofit Housing Works officially opened the state's first shop on Dec. 29 at 1 Astor Place.

Marijuana sales estimates for New York have surpassed $1 billion over the next six years, and Housing Works hopes to get about $1 million in pre-tax revenue at its dispensary. The stores should give the city's retail industry a nice boost as it continues struggling to recover from the pandemic and the rise of e-commerce. — Eddie Small

Developers bet on casino business

Starting this month, the state will receive bids from potential casino operators in what experts describe as the biggest opportunity for the gambling business in years.

Odds are two of the three available licenses will be granted to racinos at the Yonkers and Aqueduct racetracks, meaning developers will be fighting for a single license somewhere in the five boroughs, for a casino that will open in 2024.

A new casino costs an estimated $3 billion to license and build, while generating up to $2 billion in annual revenue. Will it land in Midtown? Next to CitiField? On Coney Island? None of the above?

What a time to be a bookie. — Aaron Elstein

Complete coverage

Published on Jan. 9, 2023