From the time I was a teenager, I have spent my entire life working in a Queens-based, two-generation family business that grew into a market leader in the retail electronic amusement, music, tobacco, and ATM industry. In large measure, New York State’s policies are to blame for how this cottage industry, along with many small businesses like mine, is drying up and disappearing.
Going back to 1975, there were approximately 300 enterprises in our industry operating across the greater New York tri-state region. Today, there are just fifty. Several hundred people still earn their livelihoods here.
Much of the equipment our businesses placed on New York’s streets was once manufactured in America. Today, most of it is imported from China, South Korea, or Taiwan.
Our jukebox music and amusement machines used to be found in diners, coffee shops, and pizzerias. Due to government policies, the economics of operating in these locations no longer make sense. The core of our business has always been in bars, clubs, and entertainment centers. Our presence in these venues provides a meaningful financial boost to business owners, many of whom are also struggling to stay open. But New York’s government officials are strangling us with unreasonable and burdensome laws and regulations. Meanwhile, the state unfairly subsidizes and encourages our competitors.
For example, while it’s been determined that tobacco is a health hazard, the cigarette machine segment of our industry once employed hundreds of people in good-paying jobs. The government earned significant tax revenues from this sector. When New York crippled this legal business, illegal tobacco sales—which continue to flourish—cost the state as much as $1 billion a year in lost tax revenue.
Contrast this with the state’s enthusiastic support for cannabis. Like tobacco, cannabis raises legitimate health and safety concerns. Yet New York has provided taxpayer funding to numerous cannabis operations, including those run by individuals with criminal records. The state has also turned a blind eye to many illegal cannabis outlets, often treating them with leniency. It remains questionable how much tax revenue this system has actually generated.
Our industry must also compete with the New York State Lottery, which is a form of gambling entertainment. The Lottery maintains a strong, aggressive presence in most of our locations. Yet our amusement and music equipment is at a severe disadvantage because we are prohibited from offering any prizes of value.
Over the past two decades, New York has also embraced casino gambling, online gambling, and sports betting. These have become formidable competitors, and many business owners in our industry are simply unable to cope.
Meanwhile, with horse racing and Off-Track Betting, the state has poured billions of taxpayer dollars into subsidizing these forms of entertainment, even though they are often flawed or controversial. The odds are stacked against amusement and music operators struggling to remain viable.
It would be disastrous for New York to wipe out our industry, its employees, and the economic development we support—just to favor politically popular or highly subsidized alternatives. It is time for New York State officials to step up and ensure our survival by offering equal financial assistance, tax benefits, and business accommodations, just as they’ve done for others.
*Ken Goldberg is the president of the Amusement & Music Owners Association of New York, Inc. based in Woodside, Queens.
