Full reopening allows New York City
businesses to get back on their feet
Photo via Getty Images
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 21-MAY 27, 2021 21
BY QNS STAFF
May 19 proved to be a pivotal
day in New York’s ongoing
fight against COVID-19,
as most pandemic-related restrictions
were finally lifted
thanks to more New Yorkers
getting the vaccine and the
virus’ spread slowing to a
crawl.
For businesses all across
the city, it means a return to
something resembling normalcy.
Gone are the days of
limiting the capacity of customers
and guests inside restaurants,
bars, gyms, retail
stores, hair salons, barber
shops and offices.
Fully vaccinated customers,
meanwhile, can go about
their lives in most circumstances
without having to
wear a mask or face covering,
per new Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidelines.
It restores a sense of normalcy
for those who did their
part to protect themselves and
others by getting the vaccine.
Some safeguards will remain
in place indefinitely,
such as requirements for
proper filtration and ventilation
devices designed to
stop the spread of COVID-
19. Some businesses may
continue to mandate that
customers wear masks.
But the reopening finally
lets businesses across the city
begin, in earnest, the long
road back to prosperity. In recent
months, they’ve been able
to stay afloat through government
programs that provided
them with grants or low-cost
loans to keep their doors open
and pay their workers.
Now, the focus is on more
than just survival.
Take, for example, the efforts
of the Hudson Square
Business Improvement District
in Manhattan. On May
18, the group announced a
campaign designed to get residents
and visitors back to the
community to enjoy art and
events programs, while also
shopping at local businesses
and dining at nearby restaurants.
Last month, the Flushing
Business Improvement
District got the recovery effort
started early by holding
“Flushing Shopping Week,”
a campaign highlighting the
multitude of businesses in
the Queens neighborhood and
encouraging all customers to
come back and shop.
Businesses across the city
are taking great pains to ensure
customer safety even
as COVID-19 regulations are
eased. Many businesses will
require their workers to continue
wearing masks and practice
other safety measures to
assuage any anxiety shoppers
might feel as they return.
The small businesses of
New York City depend upon
the support of the city’s residents
to stay alive — and
the city depends upon small
businesses for its economy to
thrive. And as many of these
small businesses reopen to
full capacity, it’s important
for all of us to return and support
them.
No New York City resident
needs to hop into a car or onto
a commuter train to shop elsewhere.
They can find almost
everything they want or need
right here in the five boroughs,
just a short subway or
bus ride, or a brief walk, from
their home.
New York is open for business
again, and if we want to
keep the lights on, we need
to support each other. That
means not only getting the
COVID-19 vaccine and protecting
each other out in public,
but also doing what we can
to shop and support the local
businesses that will get our
economy rolling again.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
(From l. to r.) Flushing BID Executive Director Dian Yu and City Councilman Peter Koo launched
Flushing Shopping Week in late April to bring back consumers to the community.
Courtesy of Flushing BID
/QNS.COM
