Bookstore opens up at Players Theatre lobby
BY GABE HERMAN
A new bookstore has come to
Greenwich Village, located in the
lobby of the Players Theatre at 115
MacDougal St.
The independent bookshop, Bravo’s
Book Nook, focuses on offering books
on theater, music, children’s books and
Greenwich Village history, according to a
shop announcement. The store is owned
by Michael Sgouros of the historic Players
Theatre, which dates back to the 1950s,
and Brenda Bell of Literally Alive Theatre,
a children’s theater company that has residency
in the Players Theatre.
Sgouros and Bell have hired Jory Southurst,
previously general manager at Book
Culture on the Upper West Side, which
closed in January, to manage the store.
“We are thrilled to have Jory heading up
the Bravo’s Book Nook team,” said Sgouros
in a statement.
Bell added, “Jory not only brings a
wealth of knowledge and experience to
the store but his passion for books will be
invaluable in creating a great community
resource in Greenwich Village.”
Book Culture Event Coordinator Cody
Stuart Madsen also sang the praises
of Southurst: “Jory is a thoughtful and
dedicated bookseller and is going to do an
amazing job making Bravo’s a celebrated
addition to the Village.”
Bravo’s Book Nook will also host author
events that will make use of the off-
Broadway theater spaces. The first event
is scheduled for March 10, 7 p.m., when
authors Pamela Paul and Maria Russo,
both editors at the New York Times Book
Review, discuss their book on parenting
“How to Raise a Reader.”
The bookshop is open 12 p.m. to 7
p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. on Sunday. More information at
bravosbooknook.com.
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Bravo’s Book Nook is in the lobby of the Players Theatre.
Illegally fired Chipotle employee returns to work in Manhattan
BY GRANT LANCASTER
Union workers and city officials
turned out on Feb. 26 in support
of a Chipotle employee on her first
shift back at work after an illegal firing and
11 other Chipotle employees who will file
complaints against the fast food chain.
Louisa Mendez reported her firing to
the Department of Consumer and Worker
Protection in January, and these officials
fast-tracked the process to get her job back
because she was fired for missing work related
to sick leave, in violation of the NYC
Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, said Lorelei
Sala, commissioner of the department.
The settlement also requires Chipotle to
pay Mendez for the sick leave she requested
and to pay her $2,500 for the illegal retaliatory
firing. However, the department does
not have the authority to discipline Mendez’s
managers for the abuse, Salas said.
Mendez spoke alongside other current
and former Chipotle employees who have
had problems with managers that would
not let them take sick leave days or fired
them when they took these days off.
Mendez was caring for her sick father
and pregnant daughter last fall when her
managers at the 14th Street Chipotle in
Manhattan told her she was missing too
many days of work, she said. Mendez was
trying to save her sick days for when her
daughter’s baby was born, but her managers
made her take them.
“Workers shouldn’t have to choose
between caring for their family and their
job,” Mendez said.
Mendez and others, like Nigeria Brown,
who was fired in January from a New York
City Chipotle for missing work, had trouble
with the app they are supposed to use to
request days off, they said.
Mendez was never trained on how to use
the app, and was fired before she could ask
for help requesting sick days, she said.
Brown tried to use the app to file for sick
days after she got seriously ill during a shift,
and later when she had flu, but had trouble
working the app she was not trained on
and could not get more than one day off to
recover, she said.
Carlos Hernandez, another of the 11 employees
filing complaints against Chipotle
on Wednesday, works at the Chipotle at
680 6th Ave., he said.
Hernandez was seriously ill during his
shift, but his manager made him stay and
work in the back, he said. Because of that,
he is filing a health complaint because he
thinks that his manager wronged both him
and the customers by forcing him to work
and putting customers at risk of infection,
he said.
PHOTO BY GRANT LANCASTER
Salas thinks that workers like Mendez
who stand up against illegal behavior by
restaurants like Chipotle are sending a clear
message, she said.
“We will not tolerate retaliation,” Salas
said.
Her department fast-tracks all complaints
of retaliation in order to get workers
their jobs back as quickly as possible, Salas
said. While they are concerned about retaliation
at all restaurants, Chipotle is earning
a bad reputation for violations in New York
City, she said.
4 March 5, 2020 Schneps Media
/bravosbooknook.com
/bravosbooknook.com
