House Republicans needn’t be so afraid of New York City

So why are Republican leaders so afraid of it?

On Monday, social media accounts run by the House Judiciary Committee posted several diatribes against President Biden in the context of criticizing changes in New York City. (If you haven’t paid much attention to the Judiciary Committee’s online activity in recent years, first, this is a good move, and second, the committee is open to the idea that attracting attention through controversy and trolling is somehow beneficial to political activism.) All in all, it was a strange, panicked bunch of posts.

Let’s take a look at each of the key points of the “Make New York Great Again” argument.

In the good old days, Cheap flights to New YorkWhether a flight to New York is affordable depends, of course, on a variety of factors: where you’re departing from (Newark or Nepal?), when you’re departing (July 31 or December 31?), what counts as affordable (who’s flying, you or Elon Musk?), etc. So let’s consider Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as our hypothetical traveler, and let’s say he’s departing a month from now.

Jordan is from Urbana, Ohio, about halfway between Dayton and Columbus, and on Orbitz you can find round-trip tickets from Columbus to New York for under $150, departing Friday, July 12, returning Sunday, July 14. Since a member of Congress makes $174,000 a year, that seems pretty reasonable.

Next, this tweet, in the good old days, Go to Times Square and don’t get robbed.

So first things first? The idea that Times Square is a place where tourists can safely wander around and admire the lights is a relatively recent one. In the 1970s, during one of those difficult periods in New York City history mentioned above, any taxi driver who thought tourists were coming to Times Square with their families would suggest Bellevue.

But now Times Square is a tourist destination and a safe place. Of course, crime does happen in Times Square, but that’s the case in any public place. But according to NYPD data, robberies in the 14th Precinct (which covers this area) are down 28 percent compared to the same period last year. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Times Square every day, but so far this year, there has been less than one robbery a day in the precinct. Chairman Jordan, you’re okay.

According to the Jordan Commission, once upon a time, Head to a hotel that’s not “full of illegal immigrants.” The good news is, it’s still possible.

If we check Orbitz again, we find that there are plenty of available rooms in Times Square, including some for under $200 a night — a steep price for a hotel in, say, Urbana, Ohio, but not in Manhattan. But the availability doesn’t mean that these hotels are full of anyone, let alone immigrants.

The committee is trying to highlight that the increase in migrants in New York City has led the city to use some hotels as temporary housing, including some in Midtown Manhattan, home to Times Square. Conservative groups estimate that 16,000 hotel rooms are being used for migrants citywide, out of more than 120,000 citywide. The number of migrants in custody has remained stable since January.

(Incidentally, the migrants using these shelters are those seeking asylum in the United States. Some may have entered the U.S. during a border crossing, but those seeking asylum are allowed to remain in the U.S. until an immigration judge hears their asylum application.)

If pointing out the number of immigrants means you’re suggesting that tourists will encounter people from other countries while traveling in New York City, well, I’ve got bad news for those of you who are worried about that: A significant percentage of the city’s population is immigrants, including people from probably every other country on Earth. If you’re worried about hearing a different language or meeting someone who wasn’t born in the United States, then, of course, you should probably stay away.

But that pales in comparison to the final humiliation that awaits the tourists. Eat at the Cheesecake Factory without spending your entire paycheck.

It’s true that tourists visiting Times Square can’t afford to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, given that the only Cheesecake Factory in New York City is in Queens (if Jim Jordan wants to go to the Cheesecake Factory, he can save time and money by going to the one in Polaris Center near Columbus.) But tourists traveling to New York City for the Cheesecake Factory are completely missing the point of traveling to New York City, or anywhere, really.

New York City has its share of chain restaurants, especially in Times Square. That’s capitalism. Applebee’s knows that many tourists, overwhelmed by the weirdness of Times Square, seek solace in the familiar. Times Square is to New York what the Lincoln Memorial is to Washington, DC, as the city’s charm is. They know it. No need to tour thousands of restaurants you’ve never heard of. Just order an appetizer like they have in Urbana.

But don’t come to New York to try the chain restaurants. Do some research. The local New York paper has a list of the best restaurants. Check it out. If you’re flying to New York to go to the Cheesecake Factory, why not stay at LaGuardia Airport and try the chain restaurants there? What’s the point of visiting New York’s unique attractions if you’re not sampling its unique cuisine?

Of course, the purpose of this social media post is to smear how America has generally changed under the Biden administration, but by using New York as an example and making false or exaggerated claims about the city, it forces the Judiciary Committee to make the above statement and shows how misplaced the criticism is.

Perhaps some readers will come to a completely different conclusion than intended.