Costa Mesa takes on New York grit

A long time ago, I read a zero-sum economic theory that held that there was a fixed amount of money in the world and it just keeps moving around from region to region.

I thought of that theory when the Japanese were flush with cash 15 years ago and seemed to be buying up everything American, including Yosemite National Park.

Yes, even Yosemite. In 1990, Japan’s Matsushita Electronics purchased the American firm, MCA. In that sale, Matsushita also acquired the MCA subsidiary that operated the concession stands at Yosemite National Park. Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan declared that the Japanese should not be allowed to own such a national treasure, and the Japanese were forced to sell the subsidiary.

But for a brief period, they profited from an American public property.

Today, Japan is struggling while China is flush. Before the Japanese were buying, it was the Middle East royal families. Now, India is beginning to prosper at the expense of the American middle class by taking away jobs that Americans clearly would be willing to do. After all, what American would not leap at the tech support job that offers the opportunity to sit at a desk and tell a caller to “hold down the ‘escape,’ ‘F3,’ ‘back slash’ and ‘control’ keys while you jiggle the power cord”?

It always seems that one region of the world profits at the expense of another.

I thought of another application of this theory as my family and I moved through New York City a few days ago. While my brother, Michael, and his wife, Nan, were giving us directions to Katz’s Deli so we could get one of their famous pastrami sandwiches, they went out of their way to tell us that it is located in what used to be a terrible part of town. Drugs, crime and general mayhem reigned. But now the neighborhood is full of boutiques and Bugaboo strollers.

Central Park is now very safe too, and though I still believe that most New Yorkers won’t go there after dark, it is has been scrubbed and is a wonderful place any other time of day.

The same holds for Bryant Park, located adjacent the New York Central Library. What once was bad is now good.

I offered to Michael and Nan that perhaps New York was losing its edge ? that what some people thought was a turnoff was really part of the excitement of being in the city. You never know what could happen or to whom.

Now, for example, where native New Yorkers once whisked past desperate tourists, they escort them to subway stations. Cashiers say “thank you” upon completion of a purchase, and once in a while, men offer their subway seats to women. Even the Yankees are getting along with each other. It’s enough to make you long for Costa Mesa.

I’m convinced, you see, that there is only a fixed amount of grief in the nation and that New York has evolved at the expense of Costa Mesa. What was once nothing but a quaint little city whose sole purpose on the planet was to acquire a few yards of beach is now the center of attention in the nation.

But now, Costa Mesa has acquired New York’s grit, that edge that once belonged to the Big Apple. In just a few months, the mayor has become a shooting star (those are the ones that flame out quickly), City Council meetings attract television trucks, immigration protests are routine, and the chief of police who restored relationships on the Westside resigns after three years because he wants to spend more time with his family.

Cities have souls, just as people do. If you’ve traveled even a little, you know this is true. Cities have a rhythm, a mind-set that is a direct reflection of its people. New York changed because it was severely wounded four-and-a-half years ago on Sept. 11. Costa Mesa has changed because life became too good.

That’s another theory, that major social events happen not when times are tough, but when people prosper. Costa Mesa, for example, now has more than a few homes valued in excess of $1 million.

Of course, Newport Beach would disprove that theory in a heartbeat. Despite the protestations over the cost of a new city hall or the fate of Marinapark, the city is in the zone. One need look no further than the dominant debate now: whether to build a 25- or 50-meter pool at the YMCA. Thankfully, life in Newport Beach is good, really good.

I can’t get enough of New York, having been here six times in the last twelve months. And if my theory is right, if the kinder, gentler New York is coming at the expense of harmony in Costa Mesa, then there is little we can do about it.

I only wish that along with the world-class chaos, they’d send over a world-class pastrami sandwich.