Hit us with a recession? Just a few years later, industry will be thriving even more than before . Destroy our tall buildings and try to sever the city’s soul? Not only will we rebuild while honoring those lost, tourism will eventually bounce back. Before we know it, New York City events will be back and better than ever.

First of all, the city has music, dance, theater, museums, fashion, tech, food – even beaches – and our citizens are a tapestry of the world. Secondly, we’ve even already been through this pandemic thing, more than once. For instance, rising from the ashes of the 1919 Spanish flu epidemic – compounded with the devastation of World War I – were both innovations like radio, motion pictures and the assembly line, and a cultural explosion.

Additionally, NYC boasted art deco, blues, and jazz and artists like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith in Harlem. We flirted with excess like the Great Gatsby in Long Island, and presented lush Ziegfeld Follies revues on Broadway. The city had new venues: The Apollo Theatre, the Roseland Ballroom, and the Cotton Club. We had the advent of skyscrapers, the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and the Yankees even won their first World Series in 1923, in their own newly-christened Yankee Stadium.

We’ve already shown our strength. For example, we’ve been supporting our loved communities by shopping in Chinatown, ordering takeout to help ailing restaurants, and turning ourselves into walking billboards with merch to save our favorite establishments. Furthermore, community cheerleaders like street documentarian New York Nico solicited pride with his #BestNYAccent challenge (with participants including the inimitable Debi Mazar), and t-shirt contests to see who will be crowned the new Milton Glazer with a 2021 version of the iconic I <3 NY.

(T-shirt submissions from left to right: @crazygoncomics, @doodle_deli, @loubot, @bobby_sunset, @chinagram, @chrissiemiller, @johandrox, @kalgrande, @smurfoudirtynyc).

Firstly, we’ve adapted to remote work, surviving in tiny apartments that weren’t meant to be lived in 24/7. In the New York City events realm, we’ve created new events formats to help distinguish mundane work meetings from fun awards shows and celebrations (beyond just changing the setting on our ring light). Moreover, we’ve figured out hybrid events and when it’s finally time to see each to party in-person, we’ve had a year to come up with ideas that will blow your mind. 

Companies are feeling confident too. For example, this April, Carnival Corp plans to begin NYC boardings for its biggest ship ever, the 5,282-passenger Mardi Gras, boasting celebrity restaurants and the first roller coaster at sea. Over in tech, 22,000 people were hired in 2020 by Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google in the city alone.

Google has continued its campus expansion; its latest NYC addition on Washington Street is expected to be occupied in 2023. A new facility on Pier 57 will include an events center, office and public retail space, and 24,000 square feet of community space for education programs and environmental programs run by the Hudson River Park Trust.

We are seeing hopeful signals from live sports and entertainment venues.  For example, both the New York Mets and the Yankees have resumed play with a limited capacity of spectators. Likewise, you can see the Nets at Barclays Center and the Rangers at MSG. As of April 2nd events, arts, and entertainment venues like theaters, cabarets, concert venues, are open at 33 percent capacity. Additionally, tickets are on sale for Radio City Music Hall and The Beacon for shows at the end of April. 

For instance, the “ NY PopsUp ” initiative has more than 300 state-supported outdoor events planned, and an estimated 1,000 in total. It incorporates the Tribeca Film Festival and the opening of Little Island , a new outdoor park off of Pier 55.

Moreover, Governors Ball, the outdoor music festival on Randall’s Island usually held in June, is planned for September. And the big one, Broadway — the lifeblood of the city some would say — is eyeing an unveiling that same month (they’ve already been testing the waters with a recent show featuring Nathan Lane and Savion Glover ).  “I think once we’re putting peop le in a theater, there’s another kind of opening that’s going to happen in New York City at the same time,” says Ryan Hill of Apotheosis Events , who’s worked on Broadway events including all of the Hamilton premieres (so you know he knows). “I think there will be some congruence between when Broadway is fully back and fully functional and when we return to another level of normalcy in New York and the event world.”

Venues are currently already operating at 50 percent capacity (or up to 150 people), with safety guidelines in place. And as more restrictions are lifted you can be sure that Glasshouses will be there every step of the way, keeping our venues, guests, and events community safe until our “new normal” turns normal.

Vaccination rollouts are steady, and we just legalized recreational marijuana which means new revenue streams for the city (among other things). Good things are coming. 

Like the flamboyant flappers of the 1920s with their Charleston and Fox Trot, New Yorkers live for a fashion moment. We’ve been online shopping and stocking up ‘fits. The Tik Tok set have even created new dances for us to look silly while trying in public. We are ready; just give us some place to go.  

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