New York City is headed for fiscal disaster, according to a growing number of warnings. An “office real estate apocalypse” is the phrase being used by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The “value destruction” of city office space runs to $50 billion, it says. The Times says Gotham is “teetering on the brink” of a “budget crisis,” eyeing a $10 billion deficit and warning of the unthinkable — budget cuts — unless Mayor Adams raises taxes.

The research bureau foresees the plunging values sparking a “fiscal doom loop,” as our Russell Payne has reported. They note that 53 percent of the city budget is paid for by real estate taxes. The “fiscal hole” that they anticipate “would need to be plugged by raising tax rates or cutting government spending.” The economists concede either of these options “would affect the attractiveness of the city as a place of residence and work.”