We need reasons, not rules
COURIER LIFE, MAY 29 -JUNE 4, 2020 13
OP-ED
BY JUSTIN BRANNAN
Someone once said the greatest
part of wisdom is knowing
what you don’t know.
For the past three months,
we’ve received reliably changing
guidance on how to survive
this virus, and as a result,
people are now more confused
than ever.
In February, we were told
to keep calm and carry on as
normal. In rote New York City
defi ance, we went out for dim
sum and urged others to do the
same. A few weeks later, I was
demanding Mayor de Blasio
close New York City schools
and playgrounds immediately.
In a few short, dizzying
months, we went from being
told to stay home in an ersatz
lockdown, to where we are now,
which is somewhere between
“you can go outside but wear
a mask and stay away from
other people.” We’ve been moving
the goalposts so much that
no one really knows where the
line is anymore, and confusion
is spreading faster than new
cases. We need to get clear on
updated protocol and guidance
now, before we completely lose
the crowd.
We were only able to stem
the spread in March and April
because the public trusted the
guidance coming from Mayor
Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew
Cuomo, and the justifi cation
for staying home was clear.
People saw a direct connection
between the signifi cant threat
of the virus and their own preventative
actions. But now the
curve has been fl attened, cases
are dramatically down, and after
being cooped up for months,
people are starting to unravel.
And while restlessness is not a
metric recognized by the CDC,
it is a reality. We need only look
to increased car traffi c, crowds
outside bars, and people laying
out blankets and going for
a swim at supposedly shuttered
beaches to know that the public
is losing faith. The “just say no”
approach is not sustainable and
the all-or-nothing messaging
isn’t working anymore.
If we expect people to adapt,
we need reasons not rules. We
need crystal clear guidance
rooted in sound public health
policy. Explain why we’re being
told to do what we’re being
told to do. How can our actions
reduce stress on our healthcare
system and stop the spread?
How do we continue to prioritize
protecting the most vulnerable
among us? And fi nally,
give us some common sense
clarifi cation on why wearing a
mask matters.
With no vaccine in sight,
we’ve got no choice but to buckle
up for the long haul on social distancing.
But we must recognize
expecting everyone to avoid all
human contact indefi nitely is
just not realistic. We need to
provide guidance telling people
how to safely gather and communicate
exactly which behaviors
and situations pose risks,
and to whom. This should be
informed by public health offi -
cials and epidemiologists.
We should take cues from
countries that have already
been through this phase, especially
when it comes to how our
small businesses can safely operate.
With our beloved mom
and pop shops withering on
the vine, it’s important that
we isolate and address the specifi
c risks inherent to each type
of business, and fi nd ways for
them to safely reopen as soon as
possible. Lastly, the emergency
categories of “non-essential”
and “essential” that were created
for small businesses during
the height of the pandemic
should be revisited now that the
curve has been fl attened.
I’m not saying that we
should reward the restless. I
have no sympathy for those
who want our city to reopen
during a pandemic simply because
they want a pedicure or
a frozen margarita at brunch.
And it comes as no surprise
that the “open up” protests
that have popped up around
the country are mostly coming
from cities far away from those
experiencing widespread infection
and communities who
have suffered the least. It is
simply impossible to ignore the
dynamics of race, class, and socioeconomics
here. Those of us
who lost someone to this terrible
virus, or who have gotten
very sick ourselves, are not in
such a rush to return to “normal,”
and rightfully so because
the virus is still out there.
But as summer sets in, and
the clock starts to tick on unemployment
and other forms of
temporary relief, it won’t just be
the selfi sh and the restless who
will ignore unclear guidance.
Anyone who cannot see a direct
connection between their
precautionary actions and the
threat of the virus will inevitably
stray from protocol. So it
is crucial that we are eyes wide
open honest and clear with New
Yorkers about where we are at
right now and how we move forward,
safely and united.
I don’t know if this lull is
just the calm before the next
storm. Nobody does. What I do
know is that simple, clear, and
unemotional guidance is more
important now than ever before.
Why? Because we’re not
all on the same page anymore
and mixed messages kill.
There may not be a playbook
for a once-in-a-century
pandemic but for the past three
months, people have only been
told how to survive. Now, people
need to know how to live.
Justin Brannan is a New
York City Councilman who represents
the neighborhoods of Bay
Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst
and Bath Beach.
Third-party delivery services don’t cut it
BY BLAIR PAPAGN
I walked past my friend’s restaurant
on a relentlessly sunny Saturday
afternoon which in previous years
would have been the perfect brunch
weather, but, that day, it was just another
reminder of all of the sales we
aren’t able to make, all of the staff we
can’t employee, and all the purveyors
we still can’t pay.
My friend’s restaurant is on a busy
corner and I could see him running
around, grabbing drinks for people,
answering the phone, and placing contactless
orders on tables positioned in
front of open windows for masked customers
and harried delivery drivers.
Before this pandemic, they were a bustling
brunch spot with a wait-list that
required an abundance of patience.
“You should do Caviar!” he told me,
referring to the food delivery app. “I
can’t,” I said, and wished him luck for
a good rest of his weekend. I walked
through the park on my usual route,
ping-ponging back and forth between
my two restaurants — one in Greenpoint
and one in Williamsburg. As I
walked the same path I’ve tread for so
many years, I thought about my words:
“I can’t.”
I had an English teacher in middle
school who was a stickler for the
way students asked for bathroom permission.
Because 12-year-olds are not
known for their grammatical precision,
she would often have to respond
to the student who had just asked “Can
I use the bathroom?” with an emphatic,
“Well I hope you can! But may you?”
I can use Caviar, but it charges high
fees and provides lackluster service.
I can’t afford the resentment that using
these companies brings me and,
fi nancially, I can’t afford to give them
a sizable portion of every sale when
my margins have recently shrunk to
almost nonexistent. When I use thirdparty
delivery companies, I am essentially
selling my food for 2007 prices
while simultaneously paying 2020
prices for rent, labor and ingredients.
For over a decade I have run two
restaurants in North Brooklyn with
my husband, himself a 30-year veteran
of the restaurant industry. The
changes we have seen in recent years
have made us both question the longevity
of our smallest businesses. We are
required to adhere to the same human
resources policies as a 250-person business,
yet the infrastructure for our
15-person restaurant consists of the
two of us and a part-time bookkeeper
friend. We manage hood cleanings and
payroll processing, we make vendor
and insurance payments and attempt
to stay up to date with the constantly
changing regulations passed by the
city and state — regulations set forth
by politicians.
Many things, from labor to license
fees to insurance, are dictated to us.
Why then, did Caviar and their peers
not have the amount they could charge
dictated to them when they began?
Only very recently, as our industry
seems on the brink of disaster, has this
conversation begun.
On March 11, I began keeping a
journal and many of the entries are
dedicated to my feelings of fi nancial
insecurity, and how that extends to the
people who work for me. I don’t know
what the future of my restaurants will
be right now — it’s hard for me to see
past the week I’m in. What I do know
is that my employees are part of my
extended family. Whether it’s having
them at my Thanksgiving table or celebrating
their birthday with a Costco
cheesecake, my concern for them does
not end because their employment
with me has.
If I thought that I could change all
of our futures by working with thirdparty
delivery companies, I would do
so. But in the end, I don’t think they
benefi t any of us.
Blair Papagni is the owner of Anella
in Greenpoint and Jimmy’s Diner in
Williamsburg. She is a mother-of-three
who has lived in Brooklyn for over 20
years.