NYC influencer reveals why he's leaving after 20 years: Taxes get you nothing, it's dangerous every day

A wildly popular New York City influencer told his more than 6 million YouTube subscribers in a video last Friday that he's fleeing the Big Apple - all thanks to subway conditions, crime and a host of other issues. 

Xiaomanyc, whose real name is Arieh Smith, said he paid over 50 percent of what he earned last year in taxes - which includes city taxes, state taxes, federal taxes and corporate tax - on his business. This made him wonder what benefits or lack thereof he was receiving for all that money spent.

'What I got in return for spending that money in terms of public safety, infrastructure et cetera, is very questionable,' Smith said. 

As a man with a young child, Smith described the city as 'a terrifying environment' to raise a family. 

'Just a few weeks ago, I was pushing my two-year-old son in a stroller down the block of our downtown New York City neighborhood, and there was a half-naked man on the block ahead of us screaming at the top of his lungs, violently punching the air...in broad daylight,' Smith said.

 Xiaomanyc, real name Arieh Smith, who has over 6 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for making New York City-centric content - but is now fleeing thanks to high taxes that don't bring much return

He cited crime as one of the reasons. Pictured: Migrants scuffle with NYPD officers in the middle of Times Square

'The subway is also extremely dirty and smells like excrement much of the time,' Smith said in a video with nearly 750,000 views.

A park near where Smith used to live has been under construction for five years, he said in his video

He said he crossed the street to avoid the man, adding he had to steer clear of disturbed individuals about once a month.

Smith also referenced the swathe of sucker punching incidents throughout the city, telling his subscribers that while he hasn't been a victim, a friend of his unfortunately got acquainted with what some call the 'knockout game.'

'I actually don't want to exaggerate how bad living in New York City is because most of the time, frankly, it's quite a pleasant and normal place to live,' Smith said, adding that single men might not mind some of the increased risks. 

But he said when it comes to women and children, experiencing violent outbursts on the street is 'simply not acceptable.'

'My wife was not willing to go out on the street with my son by herself,' he added. 'That just makes me feel ashamed of the city where I grew up.'

Traveling underground to the subway, public safety threats in stations and train cars are arguably just as dire as those on the street level.

Throughout 2023, around two dozen people were shoved on to subway tracjs or into moving cars, according to the New York Post.

Smith told his subscribers that his wife wasn't 'willing to go out on the street with my son by herself' because of the risk of violence. Pictured: Migrants assault police officers in Times Square

Smith called the state of the New York City subways an 'embarrassment'

Beyond the dirt and grime in the stations and train cars, subways attacks are also on the mind of New Yorkers

The most recent attack on the subway came in March, when 54-year-old Jason Volz died after being pushed onto the tracks in what police called an unprovoked attack.

A woman, also in March of this year, had to get her feet amputated after her boyfriend allegedly pushed her in front of the 3 train at a platform in the Financial District. 

In response to the growing list of victims, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stationed 750 national guard members at the busiest subway stations. For 33-year-old Smith, who's lived in the city for 20 years, this appears to be too little too late.

'It's really more about the feeling that you get when you come into the subway and there's somebody who is clearly unwell...possibly screaming his head off,' Smith said in his video. 'Besides which the subway is also extremely dirty and smells like excrement much of the time.'

He added: 'The subway is actually such an embarrassment that people in other countries frequently make fun of how bad the subway system of our nation's biggest city is.'

Smith's bread and butter on YouTube is making vlogs where he surprises various groups of people by speaking their language competently as a white American. He speaks Spanish and Mandarin Chinese fluently, according to his website, though he's proficient in many other languages.

A collapsed crane at a construction site in midtown Manhattan in July 2023

Smith said a variety of factors are making him decide to leave New York City, including the never-ending construction

As such, his subscriber base is diverse with a lot of Chinese fans. The criticism he said he often hears from foreigners about New York City's subway system is that the government spends so much money on transportation without substantively upgrading it.

Smith mentioned a station the Metropolitan Transportation Authority spent $11 billion on. It was dubbed 'Grand Central Madison' and was meant to bridge the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Station and Penn Station. 

Vice reported in June 2023 that the MTA was originally supposed to spend $3 billion on the project, and that after completion, some people's commutes were actually made longer.

'New York is simply abusing taxpayer money. Where is it going?' Smith asked at one point in his video.

Smith also briefly mentioned the 'surge in migrants' that's been plaguing the city for around two years. He said that while he's 'generally pro-immigrant,' the problem arises when government officials end up 'lavishing' tax money on migrants.

New York City wants to spend an extra $1 billion on hotel rooms for immigrants for three more years. City officials have also begun handing Migrant families prepaid debit cards that could see them receive up to $18,200 a year.

Smith said policies such as these have 'attracted' migrants.

Smith also mentioned how construction projects throughout the city are often at a standstill. He referenced a park near him that has been under construction for five years.

All of this and more led him to the bittersweet decision to leave where he grew up. 

'It's kind of sad because New York is and always will be my home, but it's frankly no longer a city where you can raise a family.'