Hotels will likely be booked "whether with tourists or people affected by a transit strike," said Mary Gendron, a spokeswoman for the Hotel Association of New York City.
But other aspects of the tourism trade would suffer because commuters staying in Manhattan would spend far less than tourists.
On Broadway, Christmas and New Year's weeks are normally the two highest-grossing of the year, with 750,000 patrons bringing in US$45 million at the box office, according to the League of American Theatres and Producers. While many Broadway seats are sold in advance, some shows still rely on walk-up sales.
"New York City does not need to have another holiday season disrupted," Savino said.
Businesses had hoped for an improvement over last year, the year of the World Trade Center attacks.
"We know from what happened last year, you can't get to downtown Manhattan unless you can get on the subway," Savino said.
Neither side in the contract negotiations addressed the media Saturday, but MTA president Peter Kalikow joined negotiators.
Bloomberg spokesman Ed Skyler said the mayor had no plans to participate. Last week, union president Roger Toussaint told the mayor to "shut up" after Bloomberg called for heavy fines against the union and workers who strike.
The union is seeking 6 percent annual raises over three years. The MTA, facing a US$1 billion deficit and contemplating a fare increase, is offering no raise the first year and possible raises the following two years tied to productivity increases.
If the union decides to strike it will face legal ramifications. A judge on Friday issued a restraining order reinforcing the state's Taylor Law, which bars strikes by public employees and orders fines of two days' pay for every day on strike. The ruling raised the possibility strikers could also face contempt charges and possibly jail time.
RSS