New York City restaurant owners call
for action from the state to prevent closure
BY FANNI FRANKL
New York City restaurants
and bars that are not able
to pay more than half
their rent are heralding a call for
action from New York State.
Findings in a survey found
that 80% of restaurant owners
could not pay even half their rent,
shedding light on the crisis that
ensued from the coronavirus lockdown.
The results of the survey,
released Monday morning, found
that just 17.2% of respondents
said that they were able to pay
50% or more of their rent. After
New York State announced that
restaurants could only open with
only takeout or outdoor dining,
eating establishments have not
been able to earn close to the
amount of business needed to pay
their rent, and especially without
making a profi t.
The restaurant and entertainment
industry have collectively
lost billions of dollars from the
shutdown, sparking fear in those
that see how this loss may cause
serious economic troubles. Small
business owners additionally want
to see adequate representation by
the state to keep their businesses
afl oat and save the small business
sector of the city, a perspective
shared by James Malios, owner
of Amali restaurant.
“I think it’s a horrifi c disregard
for due process and rights of small
business owners,” he said. “It’s arbitrary
and capricious to me that
other businesses don’t seem to be
held to the same level of restrictions
as we are. Restaurants have
been getting a level of inspection
that no other stores are getting, so
I’d like a plan on how we can plan
to survive.”
Restaurants like Amali have
Eateries will remain outdoor only for the time being, both
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
been running at a 95-98% loss in
revenue, a percentage foreshadowing
the disastrous consequences
the pandemic will have on businesses.
It is estimated that nearly
one-third of small businesses in
New York City may shut down for
good, if the government does not
PHOTO BY REUTERS/JEENAH MOON
enact measures to protect them.
Business owners are relying on
their landlords to provide them
with some leeway and delay in
rent payments as revenue continues
to plummet.
“In order to operate successfully,
we need business to be at a
75% minimum,” Melba Wilson,
owner of Melba’s in Harlem said.
“Small businesses are the fabric
of our communities, so I think it’s
going to evaporate our economy
if they fail. Six businesses have
already failed in a ten-block radius
which is very hurtful for my
community.”
Wilson noted that small
businesses are for “those who
believe in the American dream”
and that the government has a
responsibility to provide cash
grants and a halt on commercial
rent that would mean “the difference
between surviving and not
surviving.”
While the expansion of outdoor
dining by Mayor Bill de
Blasio has ushered in some lost
business, small business owners
seek a larger settlement bent on
protecting the industry that is on
the brink of collapse.
Virtual concerts aim to save iconic Upper
East Side bar where great piano men played
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
Brandy’s Piano Bar on the
Upper East Side, where
household names like Billy
Joel and Huey Lewis have performed,
has been able to survive
prohibition, the Great Depression,
a world war and the 1970s
fi scal crisis in New York City. But
it might not be able to survive the
city’s ongoing battle against the
novel coronavirus pandemic.
Like all businesses in New
York City, Brandy’s suffered
a harsh blow when the novel
coronavirus forced it to shutter
its doors in mid-March drying up
all of its revenue and was hit again
when Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced last month that the
reopening of indoor performance
venues in the city would be suspended
indefi nitely.
Over 66,000 businesses in the
city have already closed permanently
since March 1 due to the
pandemic, The New York Times
reported.
But Brandy’s close-knit staff
Lauren Mufson performing at Brandy’s.
is banding together to keep the
bar alive through a series of virtual
concerts meant to mimic, as
closely as possible, a typical night
at Brandy’s.
Beginning this week, select
performers will return to the
bar to sing against the backdrop
of live piano all on live stream
to raise funds for owner and
manager Jim Luzar and Mario
Davila as the struggle to pay
rent becomes more challenging.
Performers will wear masks at all
times except while singing and
PHOTO BY REUTERS/JEENAH MOON
will remain socially distant the
pianist, according to staffer and
actor Justin Gregory Lopez.
Apart from its history of serving
music icons, Brandy’s has
earned a reputation for helping
acting hopefuls achieve their
dreams. When staff members
are not serving drinks or singing
for customers, they are headlining
plays both on and off Broadway.
The concerts, spearheaded by
Brandy’s long-time pianist John
Bronston, are an effort to repay
the bar’s management for serving
as lifesavers for those trying to
make it in shaky industry prepandemic
and a non-existent
one now. In June, the Broadway
League announced that its theaters
would remain closed for the
rest of the year.
“Brandy’s made my career possible
for me,” said Lauren Mufson,
who fi rst moved to New York
City to pursue work on Broadway
in 1987. Since then Mufson has
starred as Donna in the Broadway
and National touring companies
of Mamma Mia! and appeared
in Off-Broadway performances of
Kari Floren’s “The Porch,” “Voices
of Swords,” William Finn’s “A
New Brain” and Elizabeth Swados’
“Groundhog.”
No matter how long Mufson
took a break from Brandy’s for
personal or performance reasons,
if she needed to come back she
was always received with open
arms. For the last 10 years, Mufson
has worked on Thursdays and
Saturdays at Brandy’s after taking
a seven-year hiatus from the piano
bar life.
During the early months
pandemic, Luzar and Davila
served as lifesavers once more
when they organized virtual
fundraisers to help staff pay for
rent and groceries as they waited
for unemployment benefi ts. Some
staffers went eight weeks without
receiving any sort of a paycheck.
After launching a GoFundMe
page for staffers living expenses
and hosting four virtual concerts
Luzar and Davila were able to
raise $25, 000 for the employees.
Not only did the “concerts” help
ease fi nancial strain for Brandy’s
staff, but seeing their co-workers
online helped employees feel
a little less isolated while on
lockdown.
“Concerts” will be a mix of
live-performance on Facebook
and pre-record videos of staffers
singing songs of their choosing
from home. During virtual
performances, a link to the Go-
FundMe page would be shared
on the platform where listeners
could continue the decades-long
tradition of slipping artists four
or fi ve dollars.
The next virtual concert
is scheduled to take place on
Thursday, Aug. 6, at on future
live performances and fundraising
events visit Brandy’s Piano
Bar Facebook page.
4 August 6, 2020 Schneps Media