Junior’s Restaurant owner Alan Rosen claims life in NYC is the WORST it has ever been amid rampant crime, migrant free-for-all and dirty streets

The owner of one of New York City’s most famous cheesecake restaurants says life in the Big Apple has become truly rotten.

Alan Rosen, 55, who runs Junior’s Restaurant across three locations in Times Square, Manhattan and in Brooklyn, is laying the blame squarely at those in charge, although charitably he is not calling out Mayor Eric Adams by name. 

Rosen’s family has run the famous eatery for three generations and says the city is becoming an increasingly challenging place to live.

He believes a general decline in the qualify of life, coupled with rising crime levels are to blame.

Rosen said on top of that, woke policies such as cashless bail which allows suspects to roam the streets within hours of their arrest, together with the city’s  designation as a ‘sanctuary city’ which has seen hoards of immigrants flood the streets, are all contributing to the deterioration.

For Rosen, who lives outside the city in Westchester, his worries extend beyond that of a mere observer. 

He says the bad feelings affect him daily with staff telling him they feel ‘uneasy and unsafe’ while his own daughter became the victim of a random assault in Bushwick, Brooklyn last summer.

Rosen says there needs to be substantive change made and that city officials need to take the lead on the most pressing issues. 

As a longstanding member of the business community he believes parallels can be drawn between running a successful restaurant and governing a city – so long as management is proactive. 

‘This is not a cheesecake. The product of New York City needs to be polished. It needs smoothing over. It needs a little shine,’ Rosen told the New York Post. ‘You need to change the narrative. You need to change reality. We need the city to deliver a better product.’ 

The restauranteur believes cashless bail and New York’s ‘sanctuary’ for immigrants has only served to exacerbate the city’s problems.

‘[Cashless bail] gives judges the discretion to put people back in jail. We’re letting a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

‘When did it become OK to shoplift a pharmacy? In what society is that OK? People shouldn’t be able to shoplift at CVS,’ Rosen said to The Post. ‘Enough! There are no consequences. That’s part of the problem.

‘We feel uneasy. We feel unsafe. We want our city back,’ he added. 

He says a perceived lack of support and respect for law enforcement has served only to embolden criminals and contributed to the city’s deteriorating safety.

Rosen says New York’s role as a ‘sanctuary city’ has only made the city’s real residents feel like second class citizens.

‘It can’t be a free-for-all. I don’t know what else you would call it. Look how much we’re spending to house migrants in hotels who have no jobs instead of hosting visitors. It’s not helping anybody. We need to take care of the people who have been here first. People who have been here longer don’t feel they have been recognized.’

Looking to the future, Rosen says plans to introduce at $15 congestion toll to enter Midtown, will be further detrimental to both residents and visitors alike.

‘You want to charge people to drive to the theater? That’s ridiculous. It’s expensive enough to come into New York. We should want more traffic in the city — people traffic,’ he says.  

Rosen remains ever the optimist when it comes to the city’s potential, noting its vibrant cultural scene and diverse array of attractions. In 2022 the city saw 56 millions visitors as tourism numbers recovered from pandemic lows.

Rosen says he wants to see a more nimble and responsive approach when it comes to governing, and although he is not blaming the current mayor Eric Adams for the city’s downturn, he believes things were at their best under the 12 years Mike Bloomberg was mayor.

‘We need to get in front of the problem. If there’s a problem in my restaurant, we address it right then and there,’ Rosen believes. ‘The city needs to be managed for regular people. It’s obvious we’re not doing the best we can. We can do better.’

Ultimately, he wants to see city leaders prioritize the needs of ordinary residents while continuing to improve and revitalize the city.

‘I want to encourage people to come here. I like to see the positives go up. The trend is down now in New York City,’ he said.