BROOKLYN IS
Gov. Hochul to borough’s honchos:
INSIDE
Your entertainment
guide Page 37
Police Blotter ..........................8
Health ...................................... 16
Education ............................... 18
Holiday ...................................20
Opinion ...................................34
HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 4 IFE, DECEMBER 17-23, 2021
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s message
to the Brooklyn business
community, fi nally on the
mend after arguably the most
diffi cult year-and-a-half it’s
ever seen, was a simple one:
while you may get knocked
down, Brooklynites always
get back up again, stronger
than before.
“This business community
was knocked down so
hard. And yet you never, ever,
ever gave up,” Hochul said
in a keynote speech at the
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s
annual gala in Tuesday
night. “And I thank you
for having that courage, the
resiliency and that Brooklyn
tough attitude that got us to
where we are today.”
The gala, the Chamber’s
fi rst since 2019 owing to the
pandemic, was held at the El
Caribe Country Club in Mill
Basin, and brought together
Brooklyn’s political and business
honchos in the swanky
locale to boost the borough’s
commerce, after taking a
veritable pounding due to the
pandemic.
The governor said that
Brooklyn coming back is
crucial for the entire state,
because the rest of the state
is “watching” how the recovery
unfolds in Kings County,
New York’s most populous
county.
“Why Brooklyn needs to
succeed coming out of this
pandemic is because the rest
of the state is watching you,”
Hochul said. “They need to
know it can be done.”
The Chamber’s president,
Randy Peers, said that the
past 18 months had been the
busiest ever for the group,
which beefed up its staff by
over 50 percent, from 22 to 35
Political bigwigs, including Gov. Kathy Hochul (far right) gathered at the Brooklyn Chamber of Conmerce’s gala
on Dec. 14. Photos by Caroline Ourso
full-time employees, to meet
the unprecedented demand
for services and assistance
from Brooklyn’s small businesses
during the pandemic.
“Without hesitation, I
can say that while our 103-
year organization has lasted
through world wars and great
depressions, this was probably
one of the most impactful
events on our membership
ever,” Peers said in remarks
to attendees. “Because it affected
almost every business
in Brooklyn and in New York
City.”
Peers laid out the dire
situation for the borough’s
62,000 businesses, 84 percent
of which employ 10 or fewer
people, as he read off statistics:
80 percent of Brooklyn
businesses lost revenue in
2020, with over half of those
losing more than 50 percent
of annual revenue year-overyear,
a fi gure he called “devastating.”
85 percent of the
borough’s establishments
had to lay off employees.
Meanwhile, a year-and-ahalf
into the pandemic, and
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