‘IT’S A VERY HARD BLOW’
Queens restaurants grapple with another pause on indoor dining as COVID-19 infection rates rise
Jonathan Forgash at the Save Our Small Biz rally in September. Photo by Angélica Acevedo/QNS
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them to let us work.”
Mojitos opened about three years
ago in one of the neighborhoods that
was hardest hit by the pandemic. Muñoz
said that while it was difficult to
navigate, they were able to invest in
their space and create an outdoor experience
that many customers have enjoyed
in the last two months. They recently
upgraded their outdoor setting
to “private cabins,” or outdoor wood
installations with individual heaters.
But, Muñoz said they’ve seen less
people dine out due to the recent chilly
weather.
Cuomo acknowledged that indoor
dining — which has been capped at
25 percent capacity since the end of
September — isn’t the main driver of
COVID-19 transmissions in New York.
Only 1.43 percent of patients caught the
virus from indoor dining, while nearly
74 percent of cases come from private
gatherings, according to statewide
data.
Loycent Gordon, owner of the historic
Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven, said
restaurants have worked hard to comply
with the different kinds of rules and
regulations put in place in response to
the pandemic and those that were already
there.
He said that if leadership is making
decisions based on the data, then they
should be encouraging New Yorkers
to support restaurants with social distancing
in place.
“Restaurant owners have mostly
been complying with rules and regulations
and investing in it for the safety
of our customers. Our infection rate
has been lower than the city average.
We’re bringing it down, however we’re
being punished,” said Gordon. “This is
a death sentence to the citizens we’re
supposed to be protecting. This is
wrong.”
Gordon said their continuous efforts
to adapt and make the most of the
current situation can still be challenging,
as not all restaurants are made the
same.
“I’ve had restaurant owners who
have told me this is gonna be the nail
in the coffin,” he said. “Takeout and
delivery is not feasible for most places.
You’re putting us into the same category
as chain restaurants, but our competitive
advantage is the experience we
give people indoors.”
Gordon, who has partnered with
Queens Together and several other
organizations to feed families and
people in need in the last few months,
notes that small businesses don’t just
employee more than half of the state’s
workforce, but also have deep ties to
their communities.
In solidarity with fellow restaurants
and bar owners, Gordon has organized
a “vigil for restaurants,” where they
light an electronic candle that they
hope “will never go out” on Mondays
at 7 p.m.
He’s calling on Cuomo and Mayor
Bill de Blasio to light their own electronic
candle to show that they haven’t
turned their backs on restaurants.
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
With a second wave of COVID-19
looming over New York, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo announced indoor dining will
be shut down indefinitely as of Monday,
Dec. 14. Some restaurant owners,
though, fear this could be the final nail
in their coffin.
The decision was made to fend off
a full lockdown, as the state and city’s
infection rate hovers above 5 percent
and daily hospitalizations continue to
increase.
While restaurant owners and advocates
don’t deny how troubling the
upticks are and that public safety is
the most important, they do argue that
they need financial aid and support in
order to sustain themselves given the
state’s restrictions.
“We all knew it was coming and
there was nothing we could do to stop
it,” said Jonathan Forgash, chef and
co-founder of Queens Together. “If the
government has the power to shut us
down, that means they have responsibility
to support us.”
Queens Together, a grassroots restaurant
advocacy group and food relief
organization, has joined several small
business leaders across Queens in the
last months to call for much-needed
support. Some of the more immediate
solutions Forgash emphasized include
putting pressure on business interruption
insurance companies to respond to
restaurants; rent breaks; and freezing
punitive fines from state agencies.
He mentioned that it’s also important
for restaurants to find a way to
adapt.
“The restaurants that adapt and
evolve are going to have the best chances
of survival,” said Forgash, “whether
it’s by pivoting to a website order system,
food relief or community service.”
But some restaurant owners can’t
help but feel like the state’s leadership
isn’t considering how this will impact
the industry, which was already experiencing
many complications prior to
the pandemic, and the oftentimes lowincome
people of color who work in it.
“It’s a very hard blow, not only if
you think about the restaurant and the
owners — it’s a hard blow for everyone
who is part of the industry,” said Marcos
Muñoz, owner of Mojitos in Jackson
Heights. “Hundreds of people will be
out of work.”
Cuomo said he knows this is a difficult
time for restaurants, and called
on the federal government to get them
relief. He will also renew the commercial
rent moratorium.
“God willing this will end soon. But
the solution isn’t to close indoor dining.
The solution will cost us more than the
problem,” said Muñoz. “We just need
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