SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVORS
C’Gardens pilates studio draws
customers with online classes
BY ROSE ADAMS
A Carroll Gardens pilates
studio has pulled through
the COVID-19 pandemic by
expanding its online class selection
while maintaining its
community feel, the studio’s
owner said.
“We totally found a way to
survive and I feel incredibly
fortunate,” said Carey Macaleer,
who runs Aline Pilates on
Court Street between Carroll
Street and First Place.”There
was a sense of, ‘We’re all this
together.'”
The small business was
forced to shutter its brick-andmortar
studio in March as
cases across the state began
to spike. But Macaleer — who
lived in Hong Kong with her
partner during the SARS epidemic
in the early aughts —
said that she prepared for the
shutdown.
‘That Friday before, I just
had this instinct that you now
what, we have to go online,”
she said.
Five days before Gov. Andrew
Cuomo mandated that
all businesses close, Macaleer
closed the studio and moved
all the programming online.
Classes are now available live
over Zoom, which participants
can access through the scheduling
COURIER L 26 IFE, JANUARY 22-28, 2021
software MindBody, Macaleer
said.
The group classes have
helped keep the studio’s tightknit
community together
while allowing Macaleer and
other instructors to speak to
attendees in real-time, she
said.
“We’re really holding true
to what our mission is in the
space, which is small, unique,
specifi c, and really honing in
on each individual,” she said.
The lessons have also provided
a sense of calm for those
seeking a physical and mental
release during the pandemic,
Macaleer added.
“So many people have
said that it’s helped their
mind frame,” she explained.
“You get to know the people
— even if it’s on Zoom — you
build community, you build
strength.”
Since going virtual, the
studio has begun allowing
clients to book the studio for
their own private classes,
posted on-demand classes on
the video website Vimeo, and
has expanded its course selection
to include pre- and postpartum
classes and lessons
for kids.
“There’s kids who are at
home, some of whom are still
learning from home, and we
want to give them the opportunity
to move as well,” Macaleer
said.
Macaleer has also been
able to hire instructors from
outside the Five Boroughs, expanding
the studio’s community.
“I just hired a teacher who’s
out of Miami … I said, ‘Why
not?’ I was excited to have a
A small pilates studio in Carroll Gardens
has survived the pandemic
by moving its classes online. Carey
Macaleer and her instructors host
their pilates lessons over Zoom.
Aline Pilates
teacher outside of Brooklyn,”
she said, adding that she hopes
to continue recruiting talent
from across the country.
A Payment Protection Program
loan in the spring and
negotiations with the landlord
both helped buoy the business,
but surviving would have
been impossible without the
community’s support, Macaleer
said.
“The silver lining is that
people have been so resilient
kind and fl exible,” she said.
“I’m really grateful to the
community because they’re
the reason we’re still here.”
BY SUSAN DE VRIES
The Brooklyn Public Library
is asking artists to submit
designs for a new limited
edition library card in
celebration of Juneteenth
2021.
The new card — which will
be the fi rst in the “Celebrating
Heritage” series — will
honor Black American culture
and history. Artists ages
13 and older must submit their
proposed design along with
an artist statement and entry
form by January 31.
There’s no restrictions regarding
the submission’s medium,
but all artwork must
be submitted digitally and fi t
within the size of a regular library
card and a key fob card.
Preference will be given to
artists with a connection to
Brooklyn.
A panel of Brooklyn Public
Library staff and community
stakeholders will narrow the
submissions down to a group
of fi nalists before choosing
the winning design. The winner
receive a $2,000 stipend,
and the work of all the fi nalists
may be displayed as an exhibition.
The idea behind the project
was fi rst proposed by Bedford-
Stuyvesant’s Macon Library
as a way to raise awareness
for the African American Heritage
Center. Patrons will then
be able to acquire the limitededition
card at any Brooklyn
branch that issues library
cards.
Details about the submission
requirements can be
found online on the Brooklyn
Public Library’s website.
Flexible plan
Library seeking designs for new
card celebrating Black culture
BROOKLYN
New calling cards
The main entrance of Brooklyn Public Library’s central branch displays
its support for the Black Lives Matter movement on June 19, 2020.
File photo by Paul Frangipane