BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Talk about a seamless transition!
Longtime East Williamsburg
suit makers Martin
Greenfi eld Clothiers have
pivoted from sewing business
apparel to face masks
and medical gowns to help
the neighborhood’s vulnerable
populations and the city’s
frontline workers, according
to the company’s manager.
“It’s a breakeven at best,
but we’re doing a lot of good
for the local neighborhood
here and essential workers,”
said Tod Greenfi eld, a secondgeneration
head of the family
business.
His father Martin Greenfi
eld, a 91-year-old holocaust
survivor, took over the Varet
Street factory in 1977 and the
outfi tters have suited up a host
of famous clients like presidents
COURIER L 12 IFE, MAY 15-21, 2020
Bill Clinton and Barack
Obama, as well as stars in TV
shows and movies, including
Leonardo DiCaprio in both
the Great Gatsby and the Wolf
of Wall Street.
But after Gov. Andrew
Cuomo’s order closing all nonessential
business to stem the
spread of the novel coronavirus
in March, the custom
clothiers had to halt their sewing
machines and furlough
their workforce.
Inspired by an online video
tutorial of a woman showing
how to sew face masks, Greenfi
eld and his brother Jay decided
to resume operations at
the end of March, but instead
of bespoke sports jackets, they
started making facial coverings
using the same materials
— complete with pinstripe and
houndstooth patterns.
“I thought if she can make
masks we could do it too,” said
Greenfi eld.
The company brought 25
workers back to the factory
and has since sold about 6,000
of the masks and donated another
1,000. They also set up
mobile mask carts for about
half a dozen elderly employees
to work from home, so
that they didn’t have to expose
themselves to the highly-contagious
bug.
The tailors make the masks
with a 100 percent densely-woven
cotton shell and lining,
along with a polyester inside
layer for extra fi ltration and
a solid wire at the nose for a
better fi t and seal. But they
emphasize on their website
that they have yet to get certifi
cation for how effective they
are for protecting against the
pathogen.
The masks cost $18 apiece
Tod Greenfi eld (right) and an employee with packages of face masks.
Tod Greenfi eld
and the company matches
each purchase with a donation
of a mask to frontline workers
and local do-gooders like the
community development nonprofi
t St. Nicks Alliance, according
to Greenfi eld.
They’ve also partnered
with Brooklyn Navy Yard
tactical gear manufacturers
Crye Precision to sew medical
gowns, as part of Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s plans to increase
homegrown production of
medical protective equipment
in the fi ve boroughs.
STRONG SUIT
East Williamsburg clothier pivots from
suits to face masks, medical gowns
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