28 APRI L 2 0 2 0
Western Queens organizers create
local business source map to help
residents shop during COVID-19
SUNNYSIDE SHINES
WHO'S
OPEN??
Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District, Astoria
Together and Sunnyside Gardens Park joined forces to
create a western Queens local business source map —
called "Who's Open??" — which is tracking 250 businesses
and counting.
The local organizations created the map to provide realtime
updates on business hours and services that have
been dramatically impacted by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
PAUSE executive order.
“This is a sensible way to organize our neighborhood and amplify
the businesses that are still prepping the food, pouring the coffee,
offering dinner and drinks to go, and making their local products
available for the rest of us,” said Alan Baglia, Queens source map
founder and organizer. “So many of us are home and following
state guidelines to flatten the curve. Little things like keeping daily
habits and ordering from our favorite places will play a role in helping
us all get through this. It is time more than ever to support the
local business and the workers that are essential to our community.”
The listing was created by Sunnyside Shines BID immediately after
the executive order was enacted, with a focus on Greenpoint
Avenue, Queens Boulevard and areas south of Queens Boulevard.
The initial data was then transferred to Google’s My Maps feature
and expanded to include the Sunnyside business districts of 43rd
Avenue, Skillman Avenue, as well as parts of Woodside, Astoria and
Long Island City.
In less than a week, “Who’s Open??” had begun tracking more
than 250 businesses.
These businesses include grocery stores, corner markets, laundromats,
bike repair shops, takeout and delivery options, as well
as other essential services including emergency childcare for first
responders at Little Friends Schools in Long Island City.
The map also points to a variety of staff solicitations via GoFund-
Me for fitness studios as well as bars and restaurants, including
Tone Pilates in Astoria, Suryaside in Sunnyside, and Solid State in
Woodside, among others.
Some entries even list job opportunities, such as Food Bazaar located
on Northern Boulevard.
Sunnyside Gardens Park is also hosting the map on their website.
“We’re thrilled to host the map on our site and promote in our
newsletters and social media,” Paul Roer, current Sunnyside Gardens
Park board president, said. “Our local businesses are the cornerstone
of our community and we want to do everything we can
to support them as we all get through this situation together.”
Users can search “Who’s Open??” by entering specific businesses
by name or broaden searches with simple keywords like “pizza,”
“wine,” “market” or “staff fund.”
Keywords are being added regularly to strengthen the search
feature of the map.
The map creators want to stress that the platform is constantly
evolving and being fact-checked. Business decisions are day-today,
and to avoid any doubt, they advise others to always call the
businesses themselves with the phone numbers and social media
information provided in the listing.
The organizers credit Instagram and Facebook pages as
great sources for businesses ever-changing information at this
time. They note that walking the neighborhoods for direct visits
from a safe distance as well as phone calls to confirm hours and
services have been essential tools in this unusual time.
Hand-lettered signs serve as primary communication for dozens
of small businesses, and the map brings that information to the
greater public.
While many businesses have listed delivery apps among their
available services, the map creators are urging customers to first
try to order directly from businesses and use the delivery apps as
a last resort.
“Some of the apps have announced they will defer fees to businesses,
but this just means the fees will be passed on to the businesses
down the road when they are struggling to dig out from
this,” said Jaime-Faye Bean, director of Sunnyside Shines BID.
In time, the developers hope to include more Queens neighborhoods,
such as Hunters Point and Jackson Heights.
The organizers are in discussion with Edible Queens to broaden
the map and expand the platform’s distribution. In the East Village,
community organizers are patterning off of the Queens source map
in an effort to promote their own businesses.
They hope similar maps will trend elsewhere and give a lift to
other neighborhoods and communities.
The ultimate goal is that the “partial closure” maps will soon end —
but for the time being, they want to be a source of information and
innovative promotion for their communities.
They are encouraging anyone with consumer tips, corrections
or additions for the western Queens source map, or anyone
looking to set up additional neighborhood collaborations, to
contact them by email at hey19tips@gmail.com or via social media
by direct messaging Baglia at @alanbaglia on Instagram and
Twitter and Sunnyside Shines BID at @sunnysideshines.
Baglia added that "Hey-19," the early working title for the
map, alludes to the Steely Dan song by the same name, with
lyrics that are reminiscent of the current social distancing
measures: “Hey, 19 / No, we can’t dance together (We can’t
dance together) / No, we can’t talk at all / Please take me
along when you slide on down.”
BY ANGELICA ACEVEDO
Western Queens local business source map ("Who's Open??") created by
Sunnyside Shines BID, Astoria Together and Sunnyside Gardens Park.
Screenshot of "Who's Open??" Google Map
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