Queens restaurants, bars work to survive amid uncertain future
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 12-18, 2020 3
the business maintains their
payroll. But he said it’s “good,
but it’s also bad,” explaining
that because most of his staff
are on unemployment, they’re
“just sitting on it.”
“If you use it, it becomes
a loan,” he said, which will
become another monthly expense.
Gordon added that 75 percent
of the $90,000 grant Neir’s
Tavern received from the de
Blasio administration back
in January when they helped
them stay open, was taken back
due to the budget crisis the pandemic
has caused.
Even so, Gordon noted how
some of the first recipients of
the PPP loans went to national
chains like Shake Shack.
Although many other companies
scrambled to return the
loans by mid-May, the Trump
administration has declined to
name all the recipients of the
loans, which has made business
owners and elected officials
concerned over whether
most of the aid is going to big
companies with access to other
kinds of financing, according
to Politico.
The city also created two
small business COVID-19 relief
programs, NYC Business Continuity
Loan Fund and NYC
Employee Retention Grant,
managed by the Small Business
Services department.
But last month, the programs
were criticized by Queens lawmakers
Senator Jessica Ramos
and Councilman Costa Constantinides
for mostly catering
to Manhattan-based businesses
while small shops across
Queens struggle to receive aid.
Councilman Donovan Richards
later introduced a bill aiming to
address the disparity in the allocation
of small business grants
and loans.
Recently appointed SBS
Commissioner Jonnel Doris
told QNS his main priority is
to deepen their outreach to the
four boroughs outside of Manhattan.
Irma Vargas, who runs
Ricas Pupusas Y Mas at 47-55
47th St. in Woodside with her
husband Daniel and two daughters,
said they didn’t qualify for
the federal government’s PPP
loan. She said she’s applied to
about seven different loans, but
hasn’t gotten a single one.
“We haven’t qualified for
anything. I don’t understand
why,” Vargas said in Spanish.
Ricas Pupusas Y Mas has been
open a little over a year. Instead
of opening every day like they
used to, they decided to open
from Thursday to Sunday, as
sales have plummeted and the
cost of food has increased.
But, Vargas said they were
able to count on Queens Together
to get some more business
during the height of the pandemic.
Queens Together was
created by former Chef Jonathan
Forgash and Sunnyside
Shines Business Improvement
District Director Jamie-Faye
Bean to directly help local food
businesses during the health
and economic crisis while supporting
frontline workers.
The group has organized numerous
free meal deliveries for
several Queens hospitals and
other essential workers, and
even established a food pantry
in Long Island City for community
members experiencing
food insecurity.
Queens Together does this
by establishing a network of
donors and sponsors that allow
them to fund local restaurants,
who in turn help feed the
community.
Open Streets, and other
proposed solutions
New pieces of legislation
meant to provide COVID-19 relief
for restaurants and bars —
introduced by City Council and
signed into law about two weeks
ago by De Blasio — are now
in effect. The package of bills,
hailed by restaurant and bar
owners as “urgently needed,
lifeline legislation,” addressed
some of the industry’s major
concerns, including imposing
limits on third-party food delivery
services, extending the
suspension of sidewalk cafe fee
collection, and protecting commercial
tenants from harassment
and personal liability.
Imposing limits on thirdparty
delivery is a big step,
as restaurateurs voiced their
critiques of how delivery businesses
cut into their profits
with fees of up to 30 percent.
Now, the new bills prohibit
third-party delivery services
from charging restaurants a fee
for telephone orders that don’t
result in a sale and capping fees
greater than 15 percent per order
for delivery and 5 percent
per order for any other charge.
What’s more, some of the
restaurateurs QNS spoke with
said they’ve had issues that
were out of their control, like
food arriving to customers late
because of other pickups or
mishandling of their food.
But the biggest idea set
forth to help restaurants during
the time of COVID-19 is to
implement more Open Streets
throughout the city, so eateries
can have more space for
customers to dine in (or out).
The Open Streets program is
largely supported by restaurant
owners, City Council, and
community members.
The Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association is advocating
for more pedestrian-only
streets to allow social distancing
for cafes and restaurants.
“We will continue to advocate
for our local economic
health,” OANA wrote in one of
their posts. “With everyone’s
support, we can overcome obstacles
that life has put before
us. And we can all emerge
stronger than ever!”
But O’Reilly, owner of Yerman’s
Irish Pub, isn’t too keen
on the idea, saying neighbors
might complain about noise
or crowding. The city also announced
plans for restaurants
to establish outdoor seating, after
Cuomo announced outdoor
dining will now be bumped up
to phase two.
For New York City, phase
two might come as early as
June 22, according to Eater.
The plans for phase two
include curbside seating without
the need for application or
approval process by allowing
them to register and self-certify
online. In the coming weeks
and months, the city will also
identify new Open Streets on
commercial strips with a large
number of restaurants and
bars.
How long is too long?
New York City began phase
one of reopening on June 8,
meaning “low risk” of infection
businesses like construction
can start up again. But restaurants
and bars, considered to
have “high risk” of infection,
won’t reopen until phase three.
At least two weeks must
pass between each phase,
meaning it would still take until
the first week of July for restaurants
to reopen, according
to a report from Eater. Prior to
Memorial Day weekend, de Blasio
announced the city would
increase police presence in
nine “bar-heavy” restaurants,
including Astoria and Long
Island City, in order to enforce
the city’s new campaign:
“Take out, don’t hang out.”
But this was put in place before
the city released any guidelines
for reopening, and could result
in businesses facing fines or
other enforcements, according
to the New York Daily News.
So while the city and state
begin to alleviate the stayat
home order, there are still
many factors restaurateurs
never thought they had to consider
— like keeping staff and
customers safe from contracting
a virus.
McSorley said fellow restaurateurs
have told her they don’t
know whether they’ll be able
to open again if the lockdown
persists or they have to comply
with too many restrictions.
“I think politicians need to
think about it, is Astoria going
to start to look like a ghost
town? Because some people will
not open up again because they
just won’t be able to manage
with 30, 40 or 50 percent capacity,”
she said. O’Reilly wants to
open soon, “before people get
sick of not working.”
And for Vargas — who
wants to see pupusas (delicious,
stuffed and grilled tortillas)
shine right next to the taco —
stopping just isn’t an option. “I
don’t want to get sick. I think of
my daughters and my family
… so we take care of ourselves
so that we can keep working,”
Vargas said. “We have to keep
fighting because there’s no
other option.”
Staff member Mo Nabil and Katch Astoria co-owner Roseann McSorley. Photo by Angélica Acevedo
Ricas Pupusas Y Mas set up a table in front of their door so
customers wait outside for their food. Photo by Angélica Acevedo
/QNS.COM
