Lady Gaga's father says he would never raise daughters in NYC again: 'This place looks like hell'
Joe Germanotta owns an Italian eatery on the Upper West Side and says Eric Adams hasn't made 'noticeable change'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lady Gaga's father Joe Germanotta has a million reasons why he's fed up with The Big Apple.
The restaurateur, 65, has been speaking out about the current state of "filthy" New York City and the crime spike he says has resulted in a loss of revenue for his business.
Germanotta told Fox News' "America Reports" Monday that the deterioration of the city has made it unsafe to raise a family there.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I would never raise two girls here again. It’s not safe anymore," he said. "The crime, it’s unpredictable. You don’t know where it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen,"
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HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: Recording artist Lady Gaga (L) and Joseph Germanotta arrive at the 87th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 22, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage) (Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage)
Germanotta owns the Italian eatery, Joanne Trattoria, on the Upper West Side and says his business has suffered in recent years as rising crime and garbage-lined city streets keep customers away.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Upper West Side used to be pretty immune to this stuff, but now it’s come full-circle. It’s like the city took a step back 10 years," he told host Sandra Smith.
"It’s the regional traffic that’s down. The Connecticut, the Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester [customers], they are not coming into New York City."
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Germanotta blamed Mayor Eric Adams for the city's regression, arguing that he hasn't seen significant progress since he took office.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I don’t see a noticeable change. I don’t know if you do. I mean, there are still some things happening, the urination laws in New York have been lifted, the pot stores, they are everywhere in New York City…garbage is piling up," he said.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 18: New York City Mayor Eric Adams. ((Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images))
The struggle isn't a new one for Germanotta. In 2020, the New Jersey native refused to pay rent on his Grand Central Terminal restaurant because of the spike in the homeless population negatively impacting his business.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With high inflation rates and exorbitant grocery costs already affecting his bottom line, Germanotta said the state of the city puts him in a tough position.
"We are going to survive, there’s no question. There’s enough business to survive and to break even, all right," he said. "But it’s not like four years ago. Four years ago, I mean, business was booming, all right. The economy was great and people had disposable income, it was a great place to be in New York City."
Germanotta called on local leadership to step up and "get our eye back on the ball."
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"I think we have to polish the Big Apple again, that would be my message," he told host John Roberts. "Get our eye back on the ball. It’s crime, cleanliness, It’s the broken windows theory: If the place looks like hell we are going to attract the wrong people…What we have now is, you know, kind of — some neighborhoods are good, some neighborhoods are bad and that affects people coming into New York City,"
Fox Business' Janelle Ash contributed to this report.