Randy Levine, president of the New York Yankees and former deputy mayor of New York City, said Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic has left a “bleak” financial situation in the city, suggesting that the city “will go bankrupt” if the issue is not addressed, The Hill reported. “Because of the pandemic, because of what’s happened here, the fiscal situation in the city is really, really bleak. It hasn’t gotten the attention that it deserves,” Levine said during an interview with John Catsimatidis on his radio show on WABC 770 AM. “If this city is not on good financial footing, then nothing else can happen,” said Levine, who served as the deputy mayor for economic development, planning and administration from 1997 to 2000. “If you don’t solve this problem, then nothing happens,” he added. “The city will go bankrupt.” State and city governments across the United States have exhausted their coffers since the start of the pandemic, using money to provide protective equipment and gear up for other preventative measures as the virus spread. The New York Times reported in November that New York City itself spent $5.2 billion combatting the pandemic, including paying for ventilators, food assistance, testing and reopening schools safely. Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) warned at the time that if the city did not receive additional resources from a major federal stimulus package, that New York would be forced to make "extremely difficult choices", referring to cuts to municipal jobs. The mayor reported a $4 billion budget gap as a result of increased spending due to the pandemic, according to the Times. Levine said that while other issues may exist in the city, such as homelessness and crime, he argued that economic policy should be the foundation to solving any wider socioeconomic issue exacerbated by the pandemic.
