The NY Times falsely claims people are not returning to NYC offices using unreliable data
The New York Times is once again using a discredited measure of physical office occupancy to support its narrative on New York City’s pandemic recovery, which is described as “incomplete and uneven.”
In an article by Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Jeffrey C. Mays published on Tuesday, the Times suggests that not all New Yorkers are benefiting equally from the economic rebound and that many in the working class are actually worse off than before.
The focus is on the increasing number of people living in poverty and the unaffordable housing situation, while also highlighting the struggling state of commercial real estate, a key driver of the local economy. The article mentions that despite more people physically returning to work, the office occupancy rate is still at around 50% of pre-pandemic levels according to one measure.
This “one measure” refers to the Kastle Systems Back to Work Barometer, a data tool that tracks weekly office attendance but is limited to buildings that use Kastle’s security services, primarily in A-minus and B-class buildings.
The article fails to mention the impact of rising interest rates, which have been steadily increasing since early 2022 and have a significant effect on New York City’s economy, particularly in the real estate sector.
Despite more optimistic estimates of office occupancy rates from organizations like the Partnership for New York City and the Real Estate Board of New York, the Times continues to rely on the Kastle data, perpetuating a narrative of empty offices and economic gloom.
Other publications, such as Fortune and Crain’s, have also used Kastle data in their reporting, contributing to a misleading perception of the state of office occupancy in New York City.
