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COURIER L 4 IFE, MARCH 20-26, 2020
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Brooklyn business owners
and staff prepared for
the worst ahead of the Mayoral
executive order to shut
down or reduce operations
of most establishments in order
to contain the spread of
the coronavirus. Now that
it’s in place, some workers
are fearing deep cuts to their
livelihoods.
“We have a lot of people
here that this is what they
depend for most of their income
and I’m one of them,”
said Ellen O’Shea, a 10-year
bartender at Freddy’s Bar on
Fifth Avenue. “I’ll have to
file for unemployment and
start buying some Ramen I
guess — it definitely hit for
real real today.”
Many workers like
O’Shea face uncertain times
now that Mayor Bill de Blasio
signed the March 16 executive
order, which limits
restaurants, bars, and cafés
to take out and delivery,
while completely shuttering
nightclubs, movie theaters,
theater houses, and concert
venues. The executive order,
meant to curtail the outbreak
of the COVID-19 pandemic,
went into effect at 9
am on March 17.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
later on Monday announced
that the state — along with
New Jersey and Connecticut
— would introduce the same
limits to bars and restaurants
at 8 pm on March 16.
The owner of a nearby
BY ROSE ADAMS
As mom-and-pop shops
across the borough shutter
amid the coronavirus outbreak,
Brooklyn’s biggest
business booster is calling
on federal and local governments
to save small businesses
from the pending perilous
economic downturn.
“The situation is unprecedented,”
said Randy Peers,
the president of the Brooklyn
Chamber of Commerce. “It
started with these larger restaurants…
but now It really
is spreading now across various
different industries.”
Peers has used his perch
atop the chamber to advocate
for a series of policy priorities
— which he claims are
both realistic and necessary
to saving the “backbone of
the economy.”
Among the legislative
goals on the chamber’s wish
list are:
• Suspension of the New
York State sales tax for an
initial period of six months
• Reduction of the New
York State’s business income
tax by half for 2020
• An indefi nite moratorium
on non-health related
business violations and fi nes
• Repeal of New York
City’s Commercial Rent Tax
on small businesses
• Creation of a fund to support
small businesses that
undertake “deep cleanings”
in response to confi rmed coronavirus
infections on site
• Institute a cap on thirdparty
delivery fees from
companies like Grubhub
and Seamless at 10 percent
to funnel money towards local
shops and away from tech
companies.
Brooklyn Chamber President
Randy Peers is helping lead
the charge of small businesses
looking for relief in the wake of
the novel coronavirus.
These objectives, which
are aimed at giving entrepreneurs
more fi nancial and
operational breathing room,
would be added to a grab-bag
of policy proposals recently
put forth by various levels of
government to stop the economic
bleeding.
Both the New York City
and the United States Federal
governments have put
forth plans to provide lowinterest
loans to small businesses
— which Peers sees as
a step in the right direction,
but not a complete solution.
“For some businesses
that have to close completely,
a loan isn’t going to help
them,” said Peers.
Other, more ambitious
plans have been fl oated by
federal policymakers — including
United States Treasury
Secretary Steven
Mnuchin and conerstative
Utah Senator Mitt Romney,
who have fl oated the idea
of a one-time, no-strings-attached
cash dividend to all
American adults.
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Businesses brace
Mom-and-pop shops
demand help amid virus
Closed, indefi nitely
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