“NEW YORK IS DEAD. DON’T COME BACK” is a saying that has been printed on many images. During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, many people left New York City. The statement by Williamsburg-based art collective The Locker Room mocked those who left the city.
       
In January 2021, a banner was flown over Miami Beach, Florida, and a large sign was installed on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. “Spotted over Miami Beach. ‘New York is dead. Don’t come back’” was posted on Twitter by Marissa on January 23, 2021.
 
“The phrase ‘New York is Dead’ is a nod to the titles of early-pandemic essays about the droves of people leaving the city — including one in The Post that prompted a rebuttal op-ed from Jerry Seinfeld titled ‘So you think New York is Dead?’” was printed in the New York (NY) Post on January 26, 2021. “The Locker Room has billboards in Los Angeles and Miami (where many in NYC fled to) with the phrase: ‘New York is dead. Don’t come back.’ My Interpretation - ‘You are weak and do not deserve to call yourself a New Yorker’ #NYC #ArtMovesPeople” was posted on Twitter by Helen Morley on February 21, 2021. 
   
“New York’s not dead. It’s just underground” is a related saying.
       
         
The Locker Room
NEW TORK IS DEAD.
DON’T COME BACK.
While the headlines read ‘New York is Dead’, the cultural flame of this city burns late into the night… The truth is, the city has finally been reclaimed by its citizens, as hundreds of thousands leave the city and it begins to feel smaller and smaller. More people have left New York than any other city in the country. The “New York is Dead” installation is a love letter to those doubling down in New York and choosing to rebuild and a golf clap to those on their way out. As Jerry Seinfeld said, “We’re going to keep going with New York City if that’s all right with you. Because of all the real, tough New Yorkers who, unlike you, loved it and understood it, stayed and rebuilt it.”. This installation will take place across Los Angeles, Miami and New York - on the streets, in the air, and underground. This installation is the official kick-off of our February artist residency program here in Brooklyn where we will lock down 15 NY-based artists at the gallery for a month of creation. Learn more about the residency here. So.. keep your head up, look to the sky, spread the word.
 
Twitter
Marissa
@marissakim
Spotted over Miami Beach. “New York is dead. Don’t come back”. @FrancisSuarez
2:16 PM · Jan 23, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
tho
@thhoommaasss
lmao a plane trailing “new york is dead, don’t come back” is flying up and down miami beach
3:10 PM · Jan 23, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
 
New York (NY) Post 
Billboard in Los Angeles tells transplants that ‘New York is Dead. Don’t Come Back.’
By Tamar Lapin
January 26, 2021 5:11pm Updated
An eye-grabbing billboard in Los Angeles has a sharp message to those who fled the Big Apple during the COVID-19 pandemic — “New York is Dead. Don’t Come Back.”
 
The massive sign on Sunset Boulevard, which went up Monday, is the work of Williamsburg-based art collective The Locker Room NYC.
 
“We had an idea to say to the New Yorkers who have left that ‘we’re doing OK without you,’” the collective’s founder, Samara Bliss, told The Post on Tuesday.
 
“It’s [also] meant to be a love letter to people who have stayed in New York.”
 
The phrase “New York is Dead” is a nod to the titles of early-pandemic essays about the droves of people leaving the city — including one in The Post that prompted a rebuttal op-ed from Jerry Seinfeld titled “So you think New York is Dead?”
   
NBC 4 (New York, NY)
‘New York Is Dead. Don’t Come Back’: Billboard Rips Those Who Fled NYC Amid Pandemic
The artists behind the campaign call it a commentary for all those who left as the city shut down, when people were stuck in small apartments and the streets were empty, and hope it can be a source of pride for those who stayed
By Ida Siegal • Published January 27, 2021 • Updated on January 27, 2021 at 5:22 pm
(...)
“It’s a love letter to all those choosing to double down and rebuild New York together,” said Graham Fortgang.
 
He, along with Samara Bliss, started the art piece from their studio in Williamsburg. They call it a commentary for all those who left as the city shut down, when people were stuck in small apartments and the streets were empty. Some, like the former president of the United States, said or implied New York was dead.
       
Daily Mail (London, UK)
‘New York is dead. Don’t come back’: Cheeky billboards in LA and Miami mock the 3.5 million people who fled the Big Apple during the pandemic as the ‘true, gritty New Yorkers’ rebuild
New billboards have appeared in Los Angeles, California, and Miami, Florida, saying: ‘New York is dead. Don’t come back’
. The tongue-in-cheek adverts were taken out by Williamsburg art collective The Locker Room
. Their message is directed at the 3.57million people estimated to have fled New York City in 2020 when it became the virus epicenter
. They were replaced by 3,500,000 lower-income residents; a net population loss of just 70,000, compared to 140,000 in 2019, according to data from Unacast
. New York City is facing an estimated income loss of $34billion due to the exodus of high-earning residents last year, Unacast claim
. The data was calculated by monitoring migrants cell phone coverage
. Millions have fled cities during the coronavirus, including New York and San Francisco, for places like Miami, Florida, Austin, Texas, and Boulder in Colorado
By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 11:38 EDT, 29 January 2021 | UPDATED: 15:41 EDT, 29 January 2021
       
Twitter
Peter Tu
@tu_petertu1117
1/31. The Locker Room wrote in the advertisement, NY is dead, don’t come back, it has attracted much attention across the country. According to Unacast estimates, a total of 3.57 million people fled NYC from 1/1 to 12/7 last year. It’s difficult for us to comment right or wrong.
7:26 AM · Jan 31, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
   
TimeOut New York 
NYC artists launch a full-scale creative response to “New York is Dead”
They’re spinning the oft-repeated phrase on its head.
Written by Shaye Weaver Tuesday February 2 2021
(...)
The statement mocks the idea that the city is dead but is mostly a love letter to all those who have stayed behind in NYC, according to The Locker Room founder Samara Bliss and her partner on the project, Graham Fortgang. The two of them worked with artists Julian Kahlon, Adam Shwartz, Dada Shikako on the “New York is Dead” project.
 
Twitter
Helen Morley - I block Crazy….A Lot.
@hmorley29
The Locker Room has billboards in Los Angeles and Miami (where many in NYC fled to) with the phrase: “New York is dead. Don’t come back.”
My Interpretation - “You are weak and do not deserve to call yourself a New Yorker”
#NYC #ArtMovesPeople
9:21 AM · Feb 21, 2021·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Chr0nic T0nic
@chronictonic
Drinking a New York Is Dead, Don’t Come Back by
@NonSequiturBeer
untappd.com
Steve checked-in on Untappd
Steve is drinking a New York Is Dead, Don’t Come Back by Non Sequitur Beer Project
5:05 PM · Apr 8, 2021·Untappd
 
Twitter
sharon north east
@primaltwit
“New York is dead, don’t come back.”
‘Some New Yorkers Don’t Want the Superrich to Return’
nytimes.com
Some New Yorkers Don’t Want the Superrich to Return
Sure, the tax revenue is nice. But ….
7:05 AM · Apr 15, 2021·Twitter for iPad
 
Twitter
Brad Wesley
@chags2
NEW YORK IS DEAD DONT COME BACK
2:35 PM · May 19, 2021 from Rhode Island, USA·Twitter for iPhone
       
Twitter
Jennifer Cook
@jennifersandra
New York is dead, don’t come back #newyorkornowhere
jennifersandra.substack.com
Is New York City actually dead?
No. No it is not. It is very much alive, thriving. The summertime energy of the city came early this year. But with a grit. A knowing wink at those who are left. Acknowledging that we stuck it out,...
8:54 AM · Jun 9, 2021·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
DEUXLOOPS
@deux_loops
NEW YORK IS DEAD DON’T COME BACK ~
10:38 PM · Sep 4, 2021 from Slidell, LA·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
matt rothenboo
@mattrothenberg
NeW YORk IS DeAD. doN’t cOMe BacK
nytimes.com
Manhattan Apartment Sales Surge to Three-Decade High
More apartments sold in the third quarter than at any other time in more than 30 years, as the New York market continues its recovery.
10:49 AM · Oct 5, 2021·Twitter Web App