March 22, 2020 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
Month xx–xx, 2019
LOCAL
CLASSIFIEDS
PAG E 11
After wide-spread fears over the novel coronavirus, many small businesses around the borough have been forced to shut down.
Brooklyn businesses brace
for COVID-19 shutdown
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
After a government-mandated
order to shut down or reduce
operations of most businesses
to contain the spread
of the novel coronavirus, some
workers are fearing deep cuts
to their livelihoods.
“We have a lot of people here
that this is what they depend
for most of their income and
I’m one of them,” said Ellen
O’Shea, a 10-year bartender at
Freddy’s Bar on Fifth Avenue.
“I’ll have to fi le for unemployment
and start buying some Ramen
I guess — it defi nitely hit
for real real today.”
Many workers like O’Shea
face uncertain times now that
both Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Governor Andrew Cuomo have
issued executive orders limiting
restaurants, bars, and cafés
to take out and delivery, and
completely closing nightclubs,
movie theaters, theater houses,
and concert venues.
The owner of an Irish tavern
in Sunset Park said the order
hits particularly hard for
bars that don’t serve food, and
have no function operations —
especially around the recentlycancelled
St. Patrick’s day festivities,
which would have been
great for business.
“It’s tough when you sell
beer and spirits,” said Matt
Hogan of Fourth Avenue’s
Irish Haven. “The timing of it
couldn’t be worse with St. Patrick’s
Day.”
The pub owner cancelled all
of their events for the Emerald
Isle-themed celebrations, which
usually is essential to keeping
the business afl oat, according
to Hogan.
“We’ve managed to operate
on razor thin margins and we
have put up a safety net against
things, but it’s going to hurt for
sure,” he said. “But we realize
the social responsibility for not
spreading the virus.”
In Prospect Heights, the
owner of the local staple diner
Tom’s is gearing up to reduce
his operations to a skeleton
staff that will dish up their
comfort foods for deliveries and
take out only, at a time when
business usually starts picking
up after a winter lull.
“Spring is when people start
getting some money in their
Wheely
ambitious
Williamsburg
woman plans to
bike every block
in Brooklyn
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Cycling is more than just a
mode of transportation or a pastime
for one Williamsburg woman,
who has taken it upon herself to
bike every block in the borough by
Sept. 1 — all while documenting
Kings County’s vast expanse and
diverse architecture.
“I felt like I was going the same
places all the time when I went biking,
so I decided I would just bike
every block so I would have new
places to go,” said Jacqueline Van-
Dusen, who, since starting her
project in 2017, has pedaled more
than 3,500 miles.
The cyclist has been chronicling
her progress on her Instagram
page, Brooklynbybike,
where some 6,800 people follow
along with her journey. There, she
documents her expeditions with
pictures of buildings in the neighborhoods
she visits — all the while
showcasing the architectural best
of Kings County, she said.
“When people come to Brooklyn,
they mostly go to places like
Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, or
Dumbo, and you see these same
types of architecture — the classic
brownstone. They don’t expect
that it changes anywhere else,” she
said.
Some of her favorite discoveries
have included the deserted runways
of Floyd Bennett Field, and
the unique and ostentatious waterfront
palaces in Mill Basin, said
the biker.
Continued on page 10 Continued on page 10
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