OP-ED
We must empower MWBEs
The lost summer of Luna Park
COURIER L M BR B G IFE, DEC. 18–24, 2020 33
BY BRYANT ALBERTO
Everybody loves amusement
parks; the fun, the laughter,
and the food. That unique
rush of energy and excitement
people feel when they visit an
amusement park, I had been
blessed with experiencing
it every day at Luna Park in
Coney Island — until 2020 arrived.
After immigrating from
the Dominican Republic, Coney
Island became my home. I
was raised here and attended
school in the district.
When I fi rst arrived, our
streets were forsaken, businesses
were struggling to get
by, and the tourists were so
few that we felt forgotten. During
that time I walked the deserted
Boardwalk on a daily
basis before the revitalization
project got underway, and
nothing prepared me for the
transformation in my community
that would change my
life.
Every year so much love
and time goes into getting the
park up and running. We always
look forward to welcoming
returning and new team
members, guiding them and
helping them develop skills
that allow them to provide safe
fun to our guests. 2020 began
very normally. My teammates
and I were all very excited for
the new attractions we had in
store for our guests and team
members.
Little did we know that we
would be heading into a global
pandemic that would trigger
a government-mandated lockdown
for months.
Working side by side with
people who share your passion
is truly a blessing. My
teammates have become part
of my family and I have built
long lasting friendships with
the seasonal staff that join
us year after year. Working
here, I watched my hometown
change for the better while
I proudly developed into an
Operations Manager at Luna
Park in Coney Island and a
working member of my community.
This year the season came
and went without the seasonal
team members that I call family,
and without the joy and
sense of pride that our park
normally brings. Yet, somehow,
coming back to work
from quarantine was one of
the best experiences I had this
year. I was relieved and comforted
to work outside in the
sun, with the beach nearby
and in fresh ocean air.
Having stable employment
and a place to be every day
provided me with some sanity
in the middle of so much
uncertainty. Although the
amusement park was quiet,
preparing to open, seeing and
talking to my teammates, albeit
through masks, gave me a
sense of normalcy.
However, Luna Park in Coney
Island remained closed
and the possibility of opening
came and vanished, leaving
many of my closest friends
and colleagues stranded without
employment, and our hopeful
guests and community left
without hope. The silence in
the park was sobering.
Looking around, seeing
empty rides being warmed by
the sun and swaying with the
ocean winds with no people to
be seen near or far reminded
me of the strange reality of
COVID.
I know our leaders are
trying their best and I understand
the challenges that
COVID poses. However, I
watched with confusion as
almost every other entertainment
industry opened their
indoor facilities during the
fall months.
It makes me wonder why
outdoor amusement parks
still remain shuttered without
a clear understanding of when
they may open, especially because
we know they can operate
safely.
While COVID cases are
now on the rise and our leaders
in New York are urging us
to socialize outside in frigid
November and December, I
urge them to think about all
the thousands of people who
work outdoors in amusement
parks that were kept from
their employment, their income,
under the safest conditions
and the lowest risk for
COVID spread.
Bryant Alberto works at
Luna Park amusement park in
Coney Island.
BY SCOTT STRINGER
If we’re serious about fi ghting
against structural racism
and building back a stronger
economy, we must meet that
challenge with concrete action
in our commercial corridors
across the City — especially
amid the holiday season.
Minority and womenowned
businesses (MWBEs)
are essential to our local economy.
These enterprises generate
strong community wealth
from Flatbush Avenue to Nostrand
Avenue, from Graham
Avenue to Broadway. They are
at the core of our city’s cultural
identity, but are bearing
the brunt of our economic crisis
— and they need our immediate
help to stay afl oat or risk
closure, costing both jobs and
livelihoods for thousands of
Brooklynites.
This isn’t just about a paycheck
— it’s about dignity
and self-worth for so many
of our fellow New Yorkers.
It’s about our local neighborhood
anchors that defi ne our
streetscapes having a fair shot
to make it.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
which has disproportionately
impacted communities
of color, particularly Black
and Latinx Brooklynites, we
know the severe impact on
our vulnerable populations –
our immigrants, seniors, and
people with disabilities. These
are communities that have already
endured decades of disinvestment
and barriers in
the economy, health care access,
education and other services.
The numbers are truly
alarming. This past summer,
our offi ce released a survey
of more than 500 MWBEs —
85 percent of City-certifi ed
MWBEs reported they cannot
survive the next six months
given their current cash on
hand. 85 percent! And 30 percent
of City-certifi ed MWBEs
said they cannot survive the
next thirty days or less. That
survey additionally found
that 60 percent of MWBEs that
competed for COVID-related
City contracts were not able
to make contact with the City
and only ten MWBEs reported
actually receiving a contract.
These fi ndings underscore
the structural inequities facing
MWBEs and the urgent
need for immediate action and
relief.
Last week, our offi ce published
our annual “Making
the Grade” report which evaluates
how well the City is creating
economic access and opportunities
for MWBEs. Our
analysis found that MWBEs
continue to face persistent
structural inequities, as 80
percent of City agency grades
measuring MWBE spending
and transparency either remained
stagnant or declined
since 2019.
Of the $22.5 billion in contracts
the City awarded in FY
2020, an abysmal 4.9 percent
were awarded to MWBEs.
Overall, the City earned its
second passing “C” grade after
four consecutive years of
“D+” grades.
The City has a major role
to play in supporting and hiring
MWBE contractors to undertake
a variety of essential
work. That’s why holding City
agencies accountable and continuing
our efforts to identify
and dismantle systemic barriers
to participation is critical
to supporting MWBEs
through this crisis.
We need new transparency
and accountability measures
in the contract registration
process. Specifi cally,
the City should be required
to provide documentation
and market analysis as evidence
that it is meeting its
MWBE goals.
The City should also mandate
unconscious bias training
for all employees; develop
a targeted plan to address areas
where there is low MWBE
utilization even when there
is MWBE availability; establish
a program to pay MWBEs
and small businesses for
their upfront overhead costs;
require transparent timelines
for RFP awards and provide
feedback to vendors that
did not receive awards; revive
MWBE programs by creating
federal, state, and local set
asides, and connect MWBE
goal outcomes to cabinet-level
performance.
Our economy is strongest
when it is inclusive and representative
of our city’s diversity.
We need real reforms
and meaningful action right
now to protect our small businesses
and our economy especially
amid the holiday shopping
season. It is a failure of
government that, in the face
of our MWBE community’s
severe economic distress, the
City showed little to no improvement
this year toward
reaching MWBE spending
goals.
As we work to rebuild our
economy, we must ensure
that Brooklyn’s minority
and women businesses owners
have the tools, resources,
access, and opportunities to
participate and share in an
equitable recovery.
Scott M. Stringer is the New
York City Comptroller, who is
running for mayor in 2021.