This is what burns me, first Pataki admits that this isn't about dollars and cents then Bloomberg comes up with a whopper: "Keep in mind also that the real economic benefit to the city is all of the delegates going home and saying New York is a great place to go," he said yesterday.Elephant
graveyard for biz
The burger guy's fried
Republicans in New York
BY ADAM NICHOLS
DAILY NEWS WRITER
The sign Cathy Caulfield held near Madison Square Garden this week made no reference to the Iraq war or Bush.
"Bruce's Burger is open," it read simply.
The schoolteacher waved it on 34th St., a desperate attempt to attract customers to her husband's empty takeout place at 1 Penn Plaza.
"In 14 years of business, I've only seen it worse during the 2003 blackout," Bruce Caulfield said. "I'm losing a lot of cash and can't see any way of getting it back."
As the convention entered its final day yesterday, many businesses around the Garden said the Republican gathering had not brought the revenues city officials had predicted.
Mayor Bloomberg was more upbeat, saying yesterday he was optimistic about the convention's impact on the city's economy.
"Keep in mind also that the real economic benefit to the city is all of the delegates going home and saying New York is a great place to go," he said yesterday.
But the mayor's words were little comfort to Caulfield, whose burger joint brought in only a third of the usual daily sales of $1,800.
Hippo Shoes on Eighth Ave. sold an average of 20 pairs of shoes a day this week, down from about 80.
"There's just no business," said Sandy Presas, an assistant manager, "and this is usually one of our busiest times, with schools going back."
Trying to offset mounting losses of $4,000 a day, the store put $80 and $90 shoes on sale for $29.99.
"We're cutting prices drastically just to sell, but nobody wants to come here," said Presas. "It would have been better for us if this convention had never come to New York."
A sign outside Generation Menswear on Eighth Ave. summed up the mood among storeowners: "Annoying Republican Convention Sale."
"I'll be so happy when this is over," sales rep Hector Arias said.
Some shops decided to close, finding staying open too costly. Little Italy, a restaurant next to Bruce's Burger, was empty on Wednesday. Yesterday, it didn't open.
NYC T-Shirts owner Kahlid Mohammed, who said he has been doing only a quarter of his regular business, was trying to remain positive until the end.
"I really hope the Republicans come shopping before they leave," he said. "If not, I don't know what I'm going to do."
Listen asshole that IS NOT what you were touting for the last year about the convention.
