Picnic restaurant "recession special"

I noticed this chalkboard "specials" sign outside the "Picnic" restaurant located on Broadway, between 101st and 102nd street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Note that the "recession special" is valid only between 4:30 and 6:30 PM. New Yorker tend to eat dinner a little earlier than the people in, say, South America or Europe -- but nobody eats dinner here at 4:30 PM. This isn't Florida, after all, and Picnic is a reasonably upscale restaurant that wouldn't be trying to appeal to the over-65 senior-citizen set... so I can only guess they're trying to coax in a few more hungry customers at 5, 5:30, or 6 PM to generate a little more revenue before the "regular" crowd arrives at the more usual time (for New Yorkers) of 7, 8, or 9 PM.

I've read that several New York restaurants are trying variations on this strategy -- opening early for brunch or lunch, offering free drinks, and lower-priced "comfort food" entrees for people who have decided they can no longer afford to splurge on restaurant food...

Note: this photo was published in a Jan 22, 2009 blog entitled " How I Look at Economic News: Beyond the Talking Heads."

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These are photos that I began taking in mid-December of 2008, after the government helpfully informed us that the recession (a word they had dared not use before, just as they refuse to use the word "depression" now) has actually been in effect since December 2007.

Having lived through roughly half a dozen previous recessions, with nothing but vague memories to mark their existence, I thought it would be useful to start gathering some photographic memories of the current one. It may or may not turn out to be as severe as the Great Depression of the 1930's, and it may or may not produce the kind of grim photographs that we have of that era ... but we won't really know until it's over, and our 20-20 hindsight might be better informed with some pictures.

Thus far, I have only a few pictures of signs showing steep discounts; these are interesting, but it's the "human story" that I think will tell the more important story. Thus far, I've noticed an increase in the number of homeless peoplehe street, asking for money, food, and handouts; but I have no direct evidence that it's associated with the recession itself. In any case, I'm reluctant to take advantage of such people by taking casual photos of them; I'm sure more appropriate opportunities will present themselves, and I'll add them to the album as I find them...