Meatpacking Unpacked: July Recap

As the city is reopening, we wanted to highlight the leaders working tirelessly for the city they love and the communities they are a part of. July’s Meatpacking Unpacked: Community Connected episodes were a month-long love letter to NYC celebrating everything it has to offer and what everyone is missing. We were joined by Fred Dixon, President + CEO of NYC & Company, and Joanne Kwong, President of Pearl River Mart, Tiffany Fields, Founder + Managing Director of Structure Inc., Anton Moore, GM of the Gansevoort Hotel, Tim Meyers, Hospitality Leader at Restoration Hardware, and Jean Lee, Food + Drink Influencer, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Robert Hammond, Co-Founder + Executive Director of Friends of the High Line. See 5 takeaways from this month’s guests below and be sure to tune in for upcoming guests in August. 

Hyper-local tourism is the focus now. 

New Yorkers tend to spend their summers getting out of the city, this summer it’s about exploring and falling in love with the city they live in. It’s not a consolation prize to spend your summer in New York. When Pearl River Mart reopened their first customer biked in from Brooklyn. “We’ve seen a lot of that, they’ll make a special trip out because if they’re going to mask up and glove up they want to make a day of it,” Joanne said. Hear more about what we’re calling field trip shopping here. 

NYC & Company is the marketing arm of the city…not a clothing company. 

NYC & Company is the tourism board for the five boroughs of New York City. The organization’s mission is to maximize travel and tourism opportunities throughout the City. They have almost 2,000 members that includes retailers, restaurants, attractions, theaters, hotels, and more. Learn about the programming NYC & Company is developing to entice New Yorkers to get out and explore here. 

Regaining the customer’s trust starts with your employees.

When talking about regaining the consumer’s confidence, Tim said, “It’s incredibly important that while you’re making the decisions about how to keep your clients safe, you’re also fundamentally considering how you’re going to keep your own people safe.” Hear what else Tim, Tiffany, Anton, and Jean had to say about the topic here. 

What exactly is a city comptroller? 

Scott Stringer is the New York City watchdog. The comptroller provides an independent voice in the city government, keeping an eye on the mayor and the city council issuing audits of city agency performance rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and safeguarding the city’s $7 billion pension system. His job is to represent the people that don’t have a voice in the traditional workings of the city government. Learn more about the position here. 

The High Line is back in a new way. 

The High Line reopened this past month with a timed-entry reservation system. With limited hours (12 pm – 8 pm) you can experience the park in an entirely new way. “It’s a much better experience because there are so few people out there.” Watch here to hear about the High Line reopening from Robert. 

To watch full conversations from July guests click links below: Fred Dixon + Joanne Kwong, Tiffany Fields, Anton Moore, Tim Meyers, + Jean Lee, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Robert Hammond.