Editorial
Supporting the small
businesses of our city
We’ve reached a “most wonderful time of the year,” where our minds turn to big
Thanksgiving meals and Black Friday deals to fulfi ll our holiday wish lists.
Everyone’s looking for a bargain, and thousands of shoppers across the city
will head out to the malls or log on to fi nd the best deals possible to please their
families and friends next month.
And let’s face it, that’s not a bad thing. People should always go bargain-hunting
and maximize how they spend their hard-earned money. But in doing so, we
should spend some of our money at the local small businesses near our homes and
workplaces.
Small businesses are no charity case, and we’re not here to make them sound
like one. We all, however, need to be reminded of their importance to the city’s
livelihood.
Every small business in New York City is an employer — perhaps not to the
scale of a big-box store, but they are job creators no less.
According to the city’s Small Business Services department, 98 percent of the
city’s 220,000 businesses have fewer than 100 employees; 89 percent have fewer
than 20. These businesses employ millions of New Yorkers who are taxpayers and
pump billions of dollars back into the local economy.
This leads to a certain co-dependence on each other. When small businesses do
well, the city does well; when small businesses struggle and fail, the city suffers
economically.
The late Art Buchwald wrote a column in 1975 about economics and small businesses,
called “Squaring the Economic Circle.” Essentially, when one person stops
using a small business, it causes a domino effect which impacts other businesses
negatively, causing an economic downturn.
Amidst all the challenges of New York — the high costs of living, the even
higher rents, especially — every dollar counts, and small businesses are counting
on every dollar they can to stay healthy.
Part of the beauty of our city is that you don’t need to travel far or wait several
days to get what you want and need — you can go right around the corner, or hop
on a short subway or bus ride, to fi nd it.
We’re thankful for our small businesses, and we urge all of you to throw some
extra business their way this holiday season.
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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© 2019 Schneps Media
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
ROBERT POZARYCKI
GABE HERMAN
ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL
MARK HALLUM
MICHELE HERMAN
BOB KRASNER
TEQUILA MINSKY
MARY REINHOLZ
PAUL SCHINDLER
MARCOS RAMOS
CLIFFORD LUSTER
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GAYLE GREENBURG
JIM STEELE
JULIO TUMBACO
ELIZABETH POLLY
New York Press Association
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Member of the
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Minority Women Business Enterprise
The Dec. 9, 1971 issue of The Villager featured a photo of past carolers
at the Christmas tree in front of the Washington Square Arch. The caption
read, “An old photo, a good old spirit.” The issue noted that the Village
Christmas tree had been decorated by the Washington Square Association
going back to 1924. Eleanor Roosevelt once visited the tree on a city tour in
1938 and said “it makes the city seem a friendlier place.” The Villager noted
that the caroling tradition in the Village also went back to 1924, and it was
“the fi rst community to revive the Old World tradition of singing carols in
the street at Christmas.”
— Gabe Herman
Extra!
Extra!
Local News
Read all about it!
www.TheVillager.com
12 November 28, 2019 Schneps Media
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