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New York City Council
Oversight - Assessing the Economic Impact of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff opens the joint hearing, asks attendees to silence phones, and explains how to fill out appearance cards. Staff states that no one may approach the dais and invites the chair to begin.
Virginia Maloney welcomes attendees to the joint hearing with the Committee on Small Business and introduces co-chair Shanel Thomas-Henry. She states the hearing will assess the economic impact of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Maloney recalls prior oversight and legislation on World Cup preparations, bathroom access, event calendaring, small business maps, and cultural passports. She says today is a look back at what the city's investment produced and who benefited.
Maloney notes free fan events in all five boroughs, 30,000 people watching the final in Central Park, and New Jersey Transit moving over 300,000 passengers across eight matches. She says there is a lot to celebrate.
Maloney says Council Finance analysis shows hosting the World Cup cost the city more than it brought in. She argues taxpayers may have subsidized a payday for FIFA and says the city still lacks a meaningful account of where money went.
Maloney says EDC passed $20 million to the host committee and the administration added $15 million, with $9 million for fan zones. She questions the host committee's $3.5 billion regional impact figure and its methodology.
Maloney notes the World Cup occurred during peak tourist season and may have displaced regular visitors. She introduces Resolution 655 calling on FIFA to pay New York City the promised $1 million legacy contribution.
Maloney recognizes Economic Development Committee staff including Alex Polinoff, William Hongnash, and Spencer Kuhn. She then turns the floor over to co-chair Shanel Thomas-Henry.
Shanel Thomas-Henry introduces herself as chair of the Committee on Small Business and thanks attendees. She says the administration announced an estimated $2 billion in economic activity for New York City.
Thomas-Henry says headline economic activity does not show who benefited. She asks whether restaurant owners in Corona, small businesses in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Southeast Queens saw new customers.
Thomas-Henry quotes Mayor Mamdani saying the World Cup belonged to deli owners, cab drivers, and line cooks. She says it is clear what New Yorkers did for the World Cup and asks what the World Cup did for New Yorkers.
Thomas-Henry says the 2026 World Cup was the largest in tournament history, with more than one million people coming to the New York-New Jersey region. She says small businesses are still holding their breath while the administration celebrates.
Thomas-Henry says the city must look beyond aggregate economic activity to see where it occurred, which industries benefited, and which neighborhoods saw foot traffic. She asks how many local businesses participated and whether opportunities were equitably distributed.
Thomas-Henry says the city must build infrastructure to intentionally direct opportunities to neighborhoods. She calls for earlier coordination with BIDs, chambers, vendors, restaurants, and retailers, and highlights Resolution 655 on FIFA's $1 million legacy contribution.
Thomas-Henry says the joint hearing should help build a coordinated playbook for future major events so small businesses and working people benefit from day one. She thanks Central Staff and her staff, then acknowledges attending council colleagues.
Chair Maloney turns to committee counsel Alex Polanoff. Polanoff asks all administration witnesses to raise their right hands and swear or affirm to tell the truth.
Maya Honda introduces herself as World Cup czar and greets the chairs and committee members. She briefly acknowledges the New York Liberty's championship before turning to soccer.
Honda says the tournament brought historic opportunities and complex challenges. She says Mayor Mamdani wanted every New Yorker to participate, the city to stay safe and moving, and bars, restaurants, and businesses in all five boroughs to benefit.
Honda says the World Cup added more than $3.5 billion to the regional economy and about $2 billion in New York City economic activity. She cites 16% higher sports bar foot traffic, over $1 billion in additional hotel revenue, and more than 12,000 jobs supported.
Honda says the success was not guaranteed and resulted from administration efforts to engage businesses and host events. She cites more than 100 free watch parties, 1,000 affordable tickets, and soccer fields open 24-7 in every borough.
Honda says the city expanded ferry service and launched a midtown transportation plan with dedicated bus and shuttle corridors. She also highlights a $26 meal deal, cultural passport program, and a small business toolkit reaching more than 56,000 New Yorkers.
Honda says the mayor wanted a legacy beyond the final whistle. She describes EDC's Choose NYC Summit with 350 attendees from 150 businesses and 34 countries, plus permanent projects like a bus lane near LaGuardia and a Brooklyn Bridge bike connection.
Honda says the outcomes prove major events can translate into real economic impacts across the five boroughs. She says the city must take an active role in supporting local businesses and coordinating future events, and closes with memories of fans watching Argentina's comebacks and Central Park finals.
Nancy Mamana introduces herself as chief marketing officer for New York City Tourism and Conventions. She thanks the committees and says she will share results of tourism marketing around the World Cup.
Mamana says NYC Tourism is the city's official destination marketing organization and represents more than 1,600 member businesses. She says tourism supports nearly 400,000 workers, with nearly 80% living outside Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Mamana says the World Cup was never just about filling the stadium and that tourism aimed to spread impact beyond it. She describes a $4.5 million investment in advertising, social media, NBC and Telemundo partnerships, borough grants, and small business toolkits.
Mamana says NYC Tourism launched an AI-enabled chatbot in 50 languages and the Five Borough Winner Special with $26 food and drink specials. She says 133,000 commemorative cups were distributed to almost 1,000 food and beverage businesses across the boroughs.
Mamana says the World Cup calendar featured more than 1,700 events, 17 times the city's previous highest-performing calendar. She says the digital campaign influenced about 164,000 visitors and generated an estimated $147 million in direct visitor spending.
Mamana says Visa data showed incremental visitor spending increased 19% in Brooklyn and 6% in Queens, with hotel demand rising outside Manhattan. She also describes the Where the World Comes to Play campaign generating more than 1.2 billion impressions.
Mamana says the World Cup showed what New York can achieve with coordinated citywide effort. She argues sustained destination marketing can turn global attention into visitation and economic opportunity across all five boroughs.
Maloney thanks the panel and notes she has the full set of World Cup cups. She asks the panel to explain how the $2 billion, $1.2 billion direct spending, and 12,000 jobs figures were calculated.
Justin Kreamer of NYC EDC says Tourism Economics conducted the studies and is a globally renowned tourism analysis firm. He explains the bottom-up approach using out-of-region match attendees and official fan zone visitors.
Kreamer says operational spending includes host committee funds from federal, state, municipal, and donor sources. He explains indirect spending through a restaurant buying more fish and induced spending through workers spending extra wages in their neighborhoods.
Kreamer says $1.2 billion in direct spending plus about $700 million in indirect and induced effects yields the $2 billion figure. He says the 12,100 jobs are supported jobs, not necessarily new jobs, and the analysis cannot distinguish temporary from permanent.
Maloney asks if the jobs were temporary over the World Cup period or had long-term impact. Kreamer says the Tourism Economics analysis does not disaggregate the information to that level.
Maloney asks what city tax revenue the $2 billion economic impact generated, noting the city investment was roughly $90 million. Maya Honda says the event stretched across agencies, government levels, and fiscal years, and the city is still evaluating costs and projected tax revenue.
Maloney asks how the completed analysis compares to earlier projections. Kreamer says the initial regional projection was $3.3 billion and the post-event regional result was $3.5 billion, a $200 million increase, but there was no pre-event New York City-specific baseline.
Maloney asks for the total number of out-of-state visitors and how many attended matches versus free events. Kreamer says there were about 1.134 million visitors, with 508,000 attending matches and 626,000 attending official World Cup events.
Maloney asks whether the analysis accounts for opportunity costs from displacing regular summer tourists. Kreamer says Tourism Economics removed displacement from the $2 billion figure and notes some visitors may return later or be newly exposed to New York.
Honda says the original plan had FanFest in New Jersey, but the administration worked with the host committee to bring free FanFests to all five boroughs. Kreamer adds that New York City captured 70% of the region's $1.7 billion in visitor spending.
Maloney asks how much of the $2 billion impact came from higher prices due to demand rather than additional transactions. Kreamer says the model is an input-output model calibrated to New York City and did consider a bump in lodging prices.
Maloney acknowledges Council Member Hanif and notes Council Member Riley was present earlier. She then passes questioning to co-chair Thomas-Henry.
Thomas-Henry asks whether the city knows the economic impact of New York City tourism during the same period in 2025. Nancy Mamana says she does not have that broken out but can follow up.
Thomas-Henry notes the World Cup overlapped with the 250th anniversary celebration and asks how much impact is attributable to each. Kreamer says Tourism Economics used out-of-market match attendees and official World Cup event attendees as the baseline.
Thomas-Henry notes 1,000 food and beverage businesses participated out of roughly 20,000 in the city, about 5%. Mamana says NYC Tourism did comprehensive outreach through BIDs, chambers, and restaurant associations, but participation was voluntary.
Thomas-Henry points to a 6% increase in Queens visitor spending despite a large fan fest and says the Bronx and Staten Island were not mentioned. Honda says the city was proud to make the Queens fan fest free and accessible, and Mamana notes the data came from Visa card spending.
Mamana says the visitor spending figures were pulled from Visa card data. Thomas-Henry asks whether the city will pull other sources, and Mamana says it can but there are additional costs and American Express data was not used.
Thomas-Henry asks whether it was fair to expedite infrastructure projects without community board or community input. Honda says the city was excited about long-term improvements but needs to get back on process specifics.
Thomas-Henry says infrastructure was expedited but businesses had difficulty getting permits. Honda says the city balanced safety and events and provided resources for small businesses, then turns to SBS for more detail.
Dynishal Gross thanks Honda and says SBS was in close coordination on SAPO permitting decisions. She says SBS briefed business improvement districts and merchants associations as decisions were made.
Thomas-Henry says the administration was new and had only six months before the World Cup, then asks whether it was as successful as it could have been. Honda says the World Cup was an enormous success but acknowledges the administration wishes it had started earlier.
Mamana says NYC Tourism would have started earlier on international visitation if funding had come sooner. She says the campaign still produced positive borough dispersion and intent to visit Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Kreamer says EDC organized 28 events, using 25 public markets that are almost entirely New York City-based small businesses. He also says EDC used the World Cup to pitch visiting businesses on opening offices in New York.
Thomas-Henry tells the administration to consult small business partners, BIDs, and chambers and start planning now for 2028. She says tourism should promote neighborhoods like Mott Haven and Corona year-round, not just during the World Cup.
Chris Banks notes the city invested $90 million and brought back $2 billion, then focuses on public housing residents. He asks whether NYCHA residents were included in employment, procurement, vending, or business outreach strategies.
Kreamer begins explaining the $20 million and $15 million allocations but Banks asks him to be specific to NYCHA. Kreamer says he does not have the information and suggests the host committee may be able to answer.
Banks asks whether any World Cup youth, workforce, or small business programming took place directly in NYCHA developments. Honda says the city can get that information and notes $75,000 grants to borough presidents for watch parties.
Dynishal Gross says SBS prioritized outreach in Black, brown, and immigrant communities, including public housing areas in Staten Island, Queens, and Brooklyn. She says SBS canvassed over 1,800 businesses, including street vendors.
Banks asks whether NYCHA community centers, resident associations, or youth programs received funding for watch parties or soccer clinics. Honda says she can get exact numbers and notes the city resourced HHS shelters for watch parties.
Banks asks for total World Cup contracts and subcontracts awarded to New York City businesses, MWBEs, businesses outside Manhattan, small businesses, street vendors, and NYCHA resident-owned businesses. He also asks about payment delays and disputes.
Thomas-Henry interrupts to move questioning to Council Member Marano. Banks says he will come back later.
Frank Morano says he is often critical of the administration but credits it for capturing $2 billion despite no matches in New York City. He asks how much of that $2 billion actually went to independently owned New York City small businesses.
Kreamer says the $2 billion analysis does not break down spending to independently owned small businesses. Morano asks whether the city should decide beforehand to measure how much economic benefit reaches small businesses for future mega events.
Kreamer says the $2 billion analysis is initial and Tourism Economics will provide a sector breakdown. He says EDC will also conduct a small business survey with SBS, BIDs, and NYC Tourism to measure revenue lifts and hiring.
Morano notes only 28 Staten Island businesses participated in the Five Borough Winner Special compared with 589 in Manhattan. He asks whether anyone in city government monitored participation and tried to increase low borough numbers.
Mamana says she agrees with Morano and that outreach was largely manual through associations, BIDs, and chambers. She says with more time the city could have started earlier and kept a better tally.
Thomas-Henry says her office offered to help distribute cups and wants small businesses to succeed. She then turns questioning over to Council Member Brooks-Powers.
Selvena Brooks-Powers asks whether the city formally requested the $1 million FIFA legacy contribution and whether it would invest it in soccer pitches or youth programs. She also asks about lodging data and Queens business participation.
Honda says she is not sure if the city formally requested the $1 million from FIFA but says conversations about legacy are ongoing. She says the host committee is building pitches and the city wants accessible opportunities to play.
Brooks-Powers says hotel revenue rose because room rates increased, not necessarily because more people stayed. She asks whether NYC Tourism tracks how many World Cup visitors stayed outside the city because they could not find or afford lodging.
Brooks-Powers notes about 60% of Five Borough Winner Special businesses were in Manhattan and asks how many were in Queens, Southeast Queens, and the Rockaways. Mamana says there were 152 in Queens and she can provide a neighborhood breakdown.
Brooks-Powers notes Citi Field will host nine Olympic soccer matches in 2028 and asks whether the city will require local hiring, MWBE, local procurement, and security cost commitments before funding. Kreamer says planning has not started but lessons will apply.
Brooks-Powers asks whether MWBE participation and opportunity data from the World Cup has been made public. Kreamer says the host committee, which will testify next, has the best tabulations of where money went.
Brooks-Powers asks what SBS will do differently so Queens small businesses outside the stadium area have materials in their languages from day one. Gross says SBS used email, webinars, door-to-door canvassing, and reached over 280,000 New Yorkers.
Brooks-Powers asks again whether the city will commit the $1 million FIFA legacy contribution to soccer pitches and youth programs if paid. Honda says she will get back but values are aligned and the city is considering lighting and programming existing fields.
Thomas-Henry thanks Brooks-Powers and turns questioning to Council Member Riley.
Kevin Riley thanks the panel and says $2 billion is impressive but is disappointed the Bronx had only 28 participating businesses. He asks about local hiring and the types of occupations created during the World Cup.
Riley asks whether there is a breakdown of local residents hired and the occupations they filled. Kreamer says the 12,100 jobs figure comes from a Tourism Economics model and does not go down to that level of detail.
Riley says large events can burden communities through street closures and disrupted block parties. He asks what steps the city is taking to prevent residents and small businesses from bearing disproportionate burdens.
Gross says SBS worked with the World Cup czar and FDNY on a social media video reaching over 50,000 New Yorkers about business preparedness. She says SBS promoted the NYC Business Express Service Team for one-on-one compliance consultations.
Riley says many visitors stayed across the Hudson in New Jersey and asks whether the city tracks short-term rentals or homeowner hosting. Mamana says NYC Tourism does not track Airbnb data.
Maloney returns to spending questions and cites $35 million through EDC, $4.5 million to NYC Tourism, and $50.2 million to NYPD. She asks for final spending figures broken out by agency.
Kreamer confirms $35 million was allocated to the host committee, which spent about $33.4 million. He says the remaining $1.5 million was used by the city for community events and branding, and describes host committee spending categories.
Honda says some agency budgets were repurposed and additional funding went to NYSEM for daily operational calls. She says the city is still assessing total World Cup cost and disaggregating NYPD overtime is difficult because it overlapped with other summer events.
Maloney notes the reported revenue was $414 million for city and state taxes, while Council Finance estimated city tax revenue around $60 million and the comptroller estimated $55 million. She asks when the final analysis will be available.
Kreamer says the $414 million state and local tax revenue figure was based on Tourism Economics analysis for the region, including New York State and New Jersey. He says it is an estimated number, not actual receipts.
Maloney asks for a more granular sense of what share goes to New York City taxes. Kreamer says that number has not been provided yet, and Honda says the city is still evaluating costs and projected revenue with a lag in data collection.
Maloney asks EDC to describe long-tail business discussions from the World Cup. Kreamer says EDC's Choose NYC program hosted a summit with 350 attendees, including 150 businesses from 34 countries considering expansion to New York.
Maloney asks how NYC Tourism will capitalize on World Cup momentum amid concerns about international travel. Mamana says the programmatic media buy created a data pool for retargeting and a new campaign will launch in November.
Maloney asks whether NYC Tourism has resources to implement the strategy. Mamana says it does not have the same level of budget moving forward and relies on travel partners like airlines and tour operators to compound investment.
Kreamer adds that Choose NYC intentionally spread opportunity across the five boroughs. He says the summit had tabling for each borough led by chambers, a panel with chamber presidents, and site visits to the Bronx, Long Island City, and downtown Brooklyn.
Maloney asks how New Yorkers responded and participated in World Cup events. Kreamer says EDC organized 28 events and nearly 7,000 New Yorkers attended public market events, while Honda cites LinkNYC match streaming, soccer streets, and 24-7 fields.
Maloney says match-day truck deliveries were prohibited from 30th to 60th Streets and lanes were reserved for buses and official vehicles. She asks about economic impact and how businesses were consulted before the changes.
Maloney says permitting was a major point of contention for community groups and BIDs trying to do local activations. Honda says more time was key, the city communicated constantly with BIDs and small businesses, and coordination could always improve.
Maloney acknowledges Council Members Farias, Gutierrez, and Aviles. She then turns questioning back to co-chair Thomas-Henry.
Thomas-Henry asks whether the city obtained the 2025 tourism economic numbers. Mamana says they will need to come back with that information.
Thomas-Henry notes the World Cup, Knicks parade, 250th anniversary, and Jay-Z concert all happened in July. She asks whether the city is working on projects to maintain soccer excitement, particularly for youth leagues.
Honda says the city was thrilled by the unexpected outpouring of excitement around soccer. She says the city is continuing conversations with council members about investment and channeling that excitement.
Thomas-Henry asks how and when SBS notified affected Midtown businesses about truck delivery restrictions. Gross says DOT managed the closures and SBS spoke to BIDs, chambers, merchants associations, and commissaries two weeks ahead of time.
Thomas-Henry asks whether NYC Tourism will use a more tech-related program for future outreach. Mamana says the next time the city should set up a centralized dashboard to see participation in real time and start earlier.
Gross says SBS targeted neighborhoods with high concentrations of immigrant-owned businesses. She says SBS wanted to engage cultural capitals and also support communities facing a perceived slowdown from federal immigration enforcement.
Thomas-Henry asks how many applications for events during the tournament window were denied and how many denials were due to World Cup events. Honda says the summer was unprecedented and the city will come back with specific data.
Thomas-Henry asks which agencies were designated to implement Local Laws 107 and 110 on cultural passports, maps, and public bathrooms. Honda says she cannot speak to specific agencies but highlights the cultural passport and digital map collaboration.
Thomas-Henry asks how many events were published and whether the digital map was published. Kreamer says 1,700 events, and Mamana describes a map created by Neuron with Google Maps that was translatable in 50 languages.
Thomas-Henry notes the 2028 Olympics will overlap with Mets games and the U.S. Open and asks whether EDC is considering a ferry to Willets Point. Kreamer says the ferry was at full capacity during the World Cup and future planning can be discussed.
Alexa Avilés says BIDs faced coordination and communication challenges and asks whether the city identified revenue impacts in outer-borough communities. Kreamer says the published $2 billion analysis only looks at the five boroughs and a further breakdown will come.
Avilés asks whether the report breaks down by zip code or just borough. Kreamer says by borough, but a small business and community organization survey launching soon will ask for zip code.
Avilés says EDC activations in Sunset Park were last minute and small businesses felt on their own. She also describes exorbitant licensing fees and a nonprofit that was denied a park permit for an event the city wanted it to do.
Maloney asks whether the shuttle system met EDC's ridership projections and mentions 120,000 shuttle tickets. She also asks for lessons learned from coordinating transportation among New York, New Jersey, NJ Transit, MTA, Port Authority, and private operators.
Honda commends the host committee and New York-New Jersey coordination, saying people got to matches and home successfully despite past MetLife event problems. She says the lesson is to start early and maintain coordination from City Hall.
Maloney notes the city knew about the World Cup four years in advance but administrations changed. She asks what safeguards can ensure planning continues for future predictable events even when administrations change.
Mamana says for NYC Tourism the issue goes back to funding. She says if the agency knew it had funding earlier, it would have started a year in advance and could have had better visitation and spending results.
Maloney asks whether funding is set aside for 2028 and how tourism investment has shifted. Mamana says budgets have been fairly flat since 2006, the baseline was recently restored a bit, and NYC Tourism is not resourced for another big event including 2028.
Avilés asks for NYC Tourism's current budget and staff size. Mamana says the budget is $23 million with about 100 staff, and that media spending is often what gets sacrificed.
Maloney thanks the administration witnesses for their testimony and work on New York's summer. She says the committee will next hear from the host committee and Alex Lasry.
Alex Lasry introduces himself as CEO of the FIFA World Cup 2026 New York New Jersey Host Committee. He says the local organizing committee coordinated with FIFA, government agencies, transportation, public safety, private sector, and community organizations.
Lasry says the World Cup was a tremendous success by every major measure and generated an estimated $3.5 billion in regional economic impact. He says the work was guided by safety and security, transportation, fan experience, and economic impact.
Lasry says more than 645,000 fans attended eight matches and about 98% entered before kickoff. He says the stadium property was cleared in under two and a half hours, beating the pre-tournament goal of three hours.
Lasry says the original plan was a single fan fest at Liberty State Park, but the host committee created a distributed network of fan experiences. He says it facilitated more than 180 public viewing licenses and over 5,000 young people participated in soccer programming.
Lasry says the host committee contracted with over 100 New York City vendors and spent more than $10 million with New York City-based businesses, including 36 MWBEs. He also describes the World Cup concierge and Welcome World Rewards program.
Lasry says the World Cup generated $3.5 billion in regional economic impact, including $2 billion for New York City, $1.9 billion in direct spending, 27,000 jobs, and $414 million in state and local tax revenue. He says the host committee invested in permanent mini pitches in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
Maloney welcomes Lasry to his first City Council hearing and asks for a breakdown of expenditures from the $20 million EDC contract. Lasry says the vast majority was spent on free fan festivals after the host committee pivoted from Liberty State Park.
Maloney asks how the fan initiatives translated into economic impact. Lasry says the host committee did a regional economic impact report and did not break it down by city or state, relying on the city and NYC Tourism for city-specific analysis.
Maloney asks whether there will be any follow-up analysis or details. Lasry says the host committee will not do a city-specific analysis but can provide fan fest attendance numbers, including over one million at Rockefeller Center and 200,000 at the U.S. Tennis Center.
Maloney asks whether FIFA or the host committee provided resources for security or NYPD overtime. Lasry says the host committee worked with the federal government and received upwards of $60 million in federal reimbursements split across New York and New Jersey.
Maloney asks who had access to the contract between the host committee or FIFA and the city. Lasry says the contract was negotiated by the previous administrations in New Jersey and New York City and he would leave sharing it up to the city.
Thomas-Henry asks how revenue from local and corporate funding was shared between FIFA and New York City. Lasry says any funding the host committee raised went to the host committee and into World Cup operations.
Thomas-Henry asks for the host committee's total budget. Lasry says it was upwards of $200 million, and Thomas-Henry asks how much was spent with local businesses and MWBEs.
Thomas-Henry asks whether contracts required local or MWBE spending and what goods or services were procured. Lasry says any money given by New York was spent in New York City, but production companies often handled watch parties.
Thomas-Henry asks how the host committee collaborated with NYC Tourism and collected data on driving traffic to local businesses. Lasry says the host committee was small and did its best, promoting fan zones and local watch parties.
Thomas-Henry asks how the host committee identified local businesses and MWBEs for procurement. Lasry says it hired a consultant, Tiffany Stenard, to help monitor and procure MWBEs, but much work went through large production agencies.
Thomas-Henry asks Lasry's thoughts on Resolution 655 calling on FIFA to pay the $1 million legacy contribution. Lasry says the host committee received $1 million from FIFA for the Club World Cup and FIFA said it might give another $1 million, which has not been received.
Maloney notes Lasry is on a tight timeline and thanks him for his testimony. She then moves to open the hearing for public testimony.
Maloney reminds the public that this is a government proceeding and decorum must be observed. She explains that speakers have two minutes, must fill out appearance cards, and may submit written testimony within 72 hours.
Maloney calls Megan Wiley from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, Jessica Walker from the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Jeffrey Lefrancois from the NYC BID Association, and Evan Sweet from the Meatpacking District BID. She says the next round will be on Zoom with Vijay Dandapani.
Megan Wiley says the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council represents nearly 40,000 hospitality workers. She says union hotel workers welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors and helped the region realize a $3.3 billion economic impact while securing a new eight-year contract with wage and benefit increases.
Jessica Walker says the Manhattan Chamber represents 125,000 businesses and that domestic visitors to Manhattan rose 8.3% during the tournament. She outlines five lessons: benefits stayed in the core, visitors went to New Jersey, coordination came late, nightlife restrictions hurt, and street event permitting is too expensive.
Jeffrey LeFrancois represents 78 business improvement districts and says the World Cup boosted foot traffic and spending. He says many BIDs faced severe SAPO permitting obstacles, late approvals, and lost commercial activations to other host cities, and recommends streamlining permits and engaging BIDs early.
Thomas-Henry thanks the panel and says their testimony answered what could be done better. She says the city should engage BIDs, chambers, and hotels now for the next major event and asks them to submit their recommendations.
Maloney asks the Hotel Trades Council about the pressures of the World Cup on a major contract negotiation that fell in the middle of the tournament. Wiley says communication with elected officials was important and members wanted to participate in the World Cup.
Wiley says surveys before contract negotiations showed many hotel workers spent more than half their income on housing and struggled with everyday expenses. She says the World Cup money should stay with workers and the city, not disappear after the final kickoff.
Maloney thanks the in-person panel and moves to online testimony from Vijay Dandapani. She recognizes him on Zoom.
Vijay Dandapani of the Hotel Association of New York City says hotel bookings were behind projections before the World Cup. He says the final weekend produced an additional $74 million in hotel revenue but that federal policies, visa issues, and international travel declines continue to threaten tourism jobs and tax revenue.
Maloney thanks all witnesses for a thoughtful and detailed recap of the 2026 World Cup. She adjourns the hearing.