Brooklyn businesses are back
Salons reopen and restaurants go al fresco, but some eateries still face roadblocks
BY JESSICA PARKS
As New York City transitioned
into Phase Two of its
reopening on June 22, hair
salons and restaurants have
been given the green light to
open their doors, Brooklyn
business leaders said.
“Phase Two is more of a
real reopening than Phase
One,” said Marc Caserta, executive
director of the Park
Slope Business Improvement
District. “It has more potential
to draw more customers
and bring more businesses
much-needed income.”
In the second phase, restaurants
are allowed to open
socially-distanced outdoor
seating on the sidewalk and in
the parking spaces in front of
their businesses, and salons,
some offi ce buildings, and
playgrounds can open to the
public once again.
Business leaders said restaurants
situated on attractive
business corridors are
happy to open outdoor dining
space, but that isn’t the case
for many restaurants located
underneath elevated subway
lines or highways.
“Even if it’s approved … I
am not sure if they would have
customers willing to sit under
the subway,” said Yelena
Makhnin, the executive director
of the Brighton Beach Business
Improvement District.
Most eateries on Brighton
Beach Avenue, where many
restaurants sit under the subway
line, are waiting for Phase
Three to allow for indoor dining,
and are instead choosing
to continue doing take-out and
delivery in the interim, she
said.
“Unfortunately, outdoor
dining is not going to be very
helpful in our area,” she said.
“Many restaurants still have
signs saying takeout and delivery
COURIER L 14 IFE, JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020
only.”
Space is also a deterrent for
a number of restaurants, as
city guidelines only allow them
to operate two outdoor dining
tables in front of their space,
and eateries located near bus
lanes don’t have the option to
expand into the street.
“It doesn’t treat all restaurants
equally, let’s be clear,”
said Randy Peers, head of the
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
“If you, for example,
happen to be fronting a bus
lane or a through lane for traffi
c, you cannot appropriate
that space for outdoor dining.”
He added that growing the
city’s open streets program is
crucial to many restaurant’s
success with outdoor dining.
“We defi nitely support expanding
the open streets program
to reasonably accommodating
as many restaurant
areas as possible,” Peers said.
The business leaders commended
the city’s application
process for outdoor dining as
seamless and said the costs to
restaurant owners in making
the transition were minimal.
“You can use your existing
furniture and move it outdoors,”
Peers said. “Where I
think you are going to have
additional costs are with your
barriers and barricades.”
Meanwhile, hair salons
and barbershops, who have
been closed since the stateordered
shut down in March,
are reopening en masse as
they had more time to prepare
for the new operating regulations,
according to the business
groups.
“They are excited to be
back, they have been waiting
for this,” Caserta said, adding
that most of the salons on Park
Slope’s Fifth Avenue have reopened.
“The rules about how
to operate properly have been
out for quite a while, so they
have been preparing for longer
and getting the right supplies.”
Peers said he suspects salons
will have a strong start to
business as many Brooklynites
are in much need of a haircut
and looked forward to his own
hair appointment, scheduled
for Monday evening.
“I think a lot of these businesses
are going to see a rush
of patronage at least until we
get caught up,” Peer said.
Nostro Ristorante, an Italian earery in Greenwood Heights, opened for
outdoor dining on Monday. Photo by Jessica Parks
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