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‘If No Tourists Come, I Have No Business’: New York’s Tourism Crisis

October 13, 2020

Outside Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4, the long line of New York City yellow cabs that in years past rotated like a conveyor belt to meet the demand of passenger arrivals has disappeared.

The wraparound rows where riders line up to hail a cab are empty. Where usually a dozen cabs idle to pick up travelers, last Thursday two were parked. The drivers can wait for hours before picking up a single passenger.

“I have no fares. There’s no flights coming in, no tourists visiting and there’s less people on the streets,” said Jean Metellus, a 71-year-old Queens resident who has owned his taxi since 1988. “So there’s no business, but we still have to pay the bills.”

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