Holidays
Four minority-owned business get
spotlight at Bryant Park Winter Village
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
TREESTAR*, a Jackson Heightsbased
shop that sells sustainable
soaps and hand-poured candles,
will showcase their products at the Bank
of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
until Dec. 18.
TREESTAR* is one of four minorityowned
small businesses selected for a
“small business spotlight” in order to
encourage New Yorkers to shop at stores
disproportionality impacted by the novel
coronavirus pandemic, according to a press
statement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt
almost all businesses in New York City,
but minority-owned businesses have been
hit particularly hard by the virus with one
analysis from the University of California,
Santa Cruz claims that 40% of Black businesses
owners said they were not working
in April.
All four businesses are allowed to temporarily
set up shop on a rotating basis at
a rent-free spot in the village until Jan. 3.
New Yorkers interested in keeping their
holiday shopping local can stop by TREESTAR*
between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. until
Dec. 18.
PHOTO BY LISA MELONI
“As a native New Yorker and small
business owner, having a shop inBank of
America Winter Village at Bryant Park
has always been a goal, now it is a dream
come true,”said José Alvarez, owner of
TREESTAR* NYC.“We are truly grateful
for this once in a lifetime opportunity that
will shine a light on minority-owned, small
businesses while helping build brand equity
in ways we could not have done otherwise.
Thanks to Bank of America and this
program we will be able to get our soaps
and candles into the hands of many new
customers and continue to pursue our mission
to spread love, not germs, on a much
larger scale.”
The other three businesses are Annie
Mae’s Bakery which sells cookies, cupcakes,
pie fi lling, baking accessories and
attire out of their brick-and-mortar shop
in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn; Harlem’s Heaven
Hats where shop owner Evetta Petty sells
personally designed hats; and Forest Hillsbased
shop Tibet Tree of Life which sells
Tibetan singing bowls, shawls, incense,
and metal clutches made in the Himalayan
region.
Tibet Tree of Life will be the last shop in
the rotation and will be open for business
in the village beginning Dec. 19 through
Jan.3.
Manhattan cheesesteak haven partners with
south Bronx non-profit for holiday toy drive
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Despite all current challenges
faced by the city’s
dining industry, one
Manhattan cheesesteak staple is
still going the whole nine yards
to ensure that local children have
something to smile about this
holiday season.
Wogies, a Philadelphia-themed
bar operating out of both the West
Village and Financial District
partnered with Children’s Aid,
a south Bronx-based nonprofi t,
for a holiday toy drive which will
bring gifts to foster children,
youth with special needs and
other underserved kids not only
in the Bronx but throughout New
York City.
Accepting donations until
Friday, Dec. 18, donors need not
make a trip into Manhattan as
monetary collections will also be
accepted through messaging Wogies
Instagram by longtime staff
member, Luchana Gatica.
However, if you do head to
a Wogies location with a toy or
contribution in hand, there is a
free beer in it for you.
Gatica, who is spearheading
the toy drive has also volunteered
to go out and purchase toys for
those who make fi nancial contributions
– so far they have raised
nearly $1,000 in toys and money,
she said.
After doing some research, she
felt compelled to work with Children’s
Aid as it operates within
the nation’s poorest congressional
district, saying she couldn’t even
fathom the “deep impact on
mental health” that kids under
those circumstances have felt
throughout this year.
This toy drive is one of many
charitable actions that Wogies
and owner Aaron Hoffman has
done throughout the seemingly
cursed year of 2020.
During the first dining
shutdown, Wogies offered free
food to those in the service industry
as well as their own employees
in addition to donations to essential
workers as well as discounts
to NYPD and FDNY members.
This second wave of a dining
PHOTO BY ALEX MITCHELL
closedown is particularly frustrating
to the cheesesteak bar as
Hoffman, like many other small
businesses, invested heavily into
a new air fi ltration system, heaters
and a large-scale, comfortable
outdoor setup paired with
televisions for Sunday football
and other events.
“It’s important to support
businesses who have been jumping
through hoops,” Gatica said,
adding that they are “staying
open for employees as much as
for customers.”
On the culinary side of things,
look no further than Wogies for
New York City’s most prized
cheesesteak, wings voted to be
some of the region’s best, and
plenty of other one-of-a-kind
treats like garbage bread, which
comes from its unique, onsite
industrial oven.
Also available is a half cheesesteak
and buffalo chicken concoction,
garnished with both a
chipotle cheddar wiz and white
American cheese, which was
named for this reporter.
Wogies will also be doing another
drive along with the United
States Marine Corps and Toys For
Tots this holiday season.
22 December 17, 2020 Schneps Media