EDITORIAL
RESTAURANTS, TENANTS
IN NEED OF BAILOUTS
Many aspects of our society’s recovery from
the COVID-19 pandemic can be defined by
Winston Churchill’s quote after victory in
Africa during World War II.
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning,”
he said.
We thought of this quote when Governor Andrew
Cuomo, at long last, gave New York City the green light
to resume indoor dining as of Sept. 30. It was something
we had been appealing for months to happen, as thousands
of mom-and-pop eateries continue to struggle
mightily after enduring long closure and vastly reduced
business.
Yet no one, for a moment, should think of the resumption
of indoor dining in New York City as the cure-all to
the myriad economic problems restaurants face today.
The pandemic has dug the city’s restaurant industry
into such a deep hole that there are only two ways out of
it: New financial relief that hastens their exit from the
hole and keeps everyone afloat; or a long, slow climb
out of it on their own, one that will ultimately exhaust
many of these eateries into closure.
In many ways, the businesses are in the same boats
as the thousands of residential tenants in New York City
struggling to pay the rent six months into this crisis.
Sure, there’s an eviction moratorium in place, so
none of them are in danger of losing their homes until
the governor lifts the ban. But the rent is still due every
month, and the tenants are falling further into debt
with their landlord — who’s also taking an economic
hit as a result.
Both residential and commercial tenants, and their
landlords, are in desperate need of a bailout. Simply
“canceling rent” isn’t feasible because it costs the city
the circulation of new cash that can help stimulate economic
growth.
Alas, it’s another reason why the city desperately
needs an infusion of billions in federal aid — that’s still
being held up by the Party of Trump in Washington.
At this point, their continued stranglehold on economic
aid to states hardest hit by the pandemic is more
an act of pure spite rather than prudent austerity.
For New York’s restaurateurs, landlords and tenants,
this pure spite puts them all in peril of never
reaching the beginning of the end of this crisis.
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Roseann McSorley, owner of Katch Astoria, speaks at a rally on Sept. 10 during which small business owners
called on local politicians to help businesses survive. Photo by Angélica Acevedo
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