Junior’s boss: City slice of life must improve
Life in New York City is no cakewalk — and it’s getting worse, says the owner of one of Gotham’s most famous eateries.
Alan Rosen, the proprietor of Junior’s Restaurant, would know firsthand. He’s on the ground every day at his three locations in Downtown Brooklyn and Times Square.
And residents are getting creamed, he said.
“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, 55, said.
“You need to change the narrative. You need to change reality. We need the city to deliver a better product.”
He’s also got beef with New York pols’ seemingly permissive attitudes toward crime.
“When did it become OK to shoplift a pharmacy? In what society is that OK? People shouldn’t be able to shoplift at CVS,” he said. “Enough! There are no consequences. That’s part of the problem.”
Rosen’s concerned about the safety of his workers when they leave the job at night, and said his daughter was randomly assaulted in Bushwick, Brooklyn, last summer.
“We feel uneasy. We feel unsafe. We want our city back,” he said.
The third-generation owner spoke with The Post after seeing last week’s front-page story about the Citizens Budget Commission residents’ survey showing that New Yorkers feel things are worse in nearly every measure than six years ago.
He also cited the assault on police officers by migrants in Times Square last month — near his two restaurants — as well as the recent A train subway shooting as other “trigger points” that encouraged him to speak out.