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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JUNE 7, 2020
MASKS
out of their home since
the viral outbreak hit the
city in March — with her
sewing the masks and
her husband making face
shields using a 3D printer
he built years ago.
The pair then donates
the masks to Maimonides
Medical Center and the
donation program NYC
Makes PPE, which has
helped construct and deliver
nearly 50,000 masks,
gloves, and other medical
equipment.
Samper i -Gonz á le z
heard about people making
clear masks for the
hearing-impaired on the
internet, so the resourceful
seamstress ordered
plastic by the yard and
began making the nifty
coverings — which feature
a transparent window
like piece over the
mouth.
Some companies offer
professionally-made
masks with windows, but
inventive people in other
states and countries have
started making their own
from home.
The plastic Samperi-
González uses is a thin
clear vinyl and she ensures
to still make the
surrounding part out
of regular cotton, and
makes the masks in a way
so they stick out from the
face making them still
breathable.
She’s given several to
her in-law, who can then
provide them to the people
he most often interacts
with.
The do-gooder also offered
her masks on social
media in a north Brooklyn
Facebook group for
neighbors free of charge.
Beyond the masks
helping people who need
to read lips, they also allow
folks to see facial expressions
again in the
age of the “smize,” and
she’s already gotten a
request from a daycare
center, because the workers
there wanted to allow
the kids to see people’s
smiles.
“It’s so strange these
days, walking around
and you can’t even see
someone’s smile on the
face,” she said.
VENUES
ues have turned to online fundraisers,
where regulars and devotees
have chipped in signifi cant amounts
— including to Barbès, which has
raised over $28,000.
“That has been the one thing
that has really kept us alive,” Conan
said.
Nearby venues the Bell House
and Union Hall have raised over
$37,000, according to their owner,
who was forced to lay off 50 staff
members since the pandemic began.
“We’ve received some really generous
donations from folks,” said
Jim Carden. “That was a big big
help.”
Venues have also qualifi ed for
the federal government’s Paycheck
Protection Program, which was designed
to help them continue playing
their employees — although that
has presented entirely new sets of
challenges.
One of the many requirements in
the program mandates that most of
the money be used for payroll within
eight weeks — but restaurants and
bars who do not operate as take-out
and delivery, such as music venues,
currently have no use for their staff,
leaving their hands tied to satisfy
any payroll requirements.
“It’s a bit of a frustrating endeavor
The Slavic Soul Party Brass Band plays the backroom at Barbés. Photo by Ayano Hisa
to try to bring people back
when there is no work,” Carden
said.
While the venue’s smallness and
independence from any large network
of clubs has long been a source
of pride for the Sixth Avenue watering
hole, their lack of resources
now threatens their existence — as,
Conan said, they are “too small to
save.”
“It’s kind of the opposite of the
airline industry or the banking industry,”
he said. “The only thing we
have is a reputation.”
Until music can start up again,
he is looking at offering to-go cocktails
at some point, and hopes the
city will allow bars like his to spill
out onto the street and sidewalk for
safe open-air dining and drinking.
Until such a time comes, venues
are dealing with the toughest crisis
they have ever faced — one that
many of them may not make it out
of.
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years,
and I’ve always chosen to have a
business model that was not making
that much money. We were always
on the verge of losing it, always in
trouble fi nancially, but still we managed
to make it work,” Conan said.
“That’s not enough anymore.”
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LET US BE YOUR
"DESIGNATED
REPRESENTATIVE "
AND
HAVE THE RESPONSIBLE INSURANCE
COMPANY PAY TO REPAIR YOUR CAR TO
FACTORY SPECIFICATIONS AND 'DELIVER
IT TO YOU WITH THAT NEW CAR
SHOWROOM LOOK WHILE DRIVING AN
IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT CAR RENTAL
A short drive thru the Battery Tunnel from Manhattan