FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 11, 2020 • QUEENS BUSINESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 29
queens business
to survive amid an uncertain future
sitting on it.”
“If you use it, it becomes a loan,” he
said, which will become another monthly
expense.
Gordon added that 75 percent of the
$90,000 grant Neir’s Tavern received
from the de Blasio administration back
in January when they helped them stay
open, was taken back due to the budget
crisis the pandemic has caused.
Even so, Gordon noted how some of the
fi rst recipients of the PPP loans went to
national chains like Shake Shack.
Although many other companies scrambled
to return the loans by mid-May, the
Trump administration has declined to
name all the recipients of the
loans, which has made business
owners and elected
officials concerned
over whether
most of the aid
is going to big
companies with
access to other
kinds of fi nancing,
according to
Politico.
Th e city also created two small business
COVID-19 relief programs, NYC
Business Continuity Loan Fund and NYC
Employee Retention Grant, managed by
the Small Business Services department.
But last month, the programs were
criticized by Queens lawmakers Senator
Jessica Ramos and Councilman Costa
Constantinides for mostly catering to
Manhattan-based businesses while small
shops across Queens struggle to receive
aid. Councilman Donovan Richards later
introduced a bill aiming to address the
disparity in the allocation of small business
grants and loans.
Recently appointed SBS Commissioner
Jonnel Doris told QNS his main priority
is to deepen their outreach to the four
boroughs outside of Manhattan. Irma
Vargas, who runs Ricas Pupusas Y Mas at
47-55 47th St. in Woodside with her husband
Daniel and two daughters, said they
didn’t qualify for the federal government’s
PPP loan. She
said she’s applied
to about seven different
loans, but
hasn’t gotten a single
one.
“We haven’t qualifi
ed for anything. I don’t understand why,”
Vargas said in Spanish. Ricas Pupusas
Y Mas has been open a little over a
year. Instead of opening every day like
they used to, they decided to open from
Th ursday to Sunday, as sales have plummeted
and the cost of food has increased.
But, Vargas said they were able to count
on Queens Together to get some more
business during the height of the pandemic.
Queens Together was created
by former Chef Jonathan Forgash and
Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement
District Director Jamie-Faye Bean to
directly help local food businesses during
the health and economic crisis while supporting
frontline workers.
Th e group has organized numerous free
meal deliveries for several Queens hospitals
and other essential workers, and even
established a food pantry in Long Island
City for community members experiencing
food insecurity.
Queens Together does this by establishing
a network of donors and sponsors that
allow them to fund local restaurants, who
in turn help feed the community.
Open Streets, and other
proposed solutions
New pieces of legislation meant to provide
COVID-19 relief for restaurants and
bars — introduced by City Council and
signed into law about two weeks ago by
De Blasio — are now in eff ect. Th e package
of bills, hailed by restaurant and bar
owners as “urgently needed, lifeline legislation,”
addressed some of the industry’s
major concerns, including imposing limits
on third-party food delivery services,
extending the suspension of sidewalk cafe
fee collection, and protecting commercial
tenants from harassment and personal
liability.
Imposing limits on third-party delivery
is a big step, as restaurateurs voiced
their critiques of how delivery businesses
cut into their profi ts with fees of up
to 30 percent. Now, the new bills prohibit
third-party delivery services from
charging restaurants a fee for telephone
orders that don’t result in a sale and capping
fees greater than 15 percent per
order for delivery and 5 percent per order
for any other charge.
What’s more, some of the restaurateurs
QNS spoke with said they’ve had
issues that were out of their control, like
food arriving to customers late because
of other pickups or mishandling of their
food.
But the biggest idea set forth to help
restaurants during the time of COVID-
19 is to implement more Open Streets
throughout the city, so eateries can have
more space for customers to dine in (or
out). Th e Open Streets program is largely
supported by restaurant owners, City
Council, and community members.
The Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association is advocating for more pedestrian
only streets to allow social distancing
for cafes and restaurants.
“We will continue to advocate for our
local economic health,” OANA wrote in
one of their posts. “With everyone’s support,
we can overcome obstacles that life
has put before us. And we can all emerge
stronger than ever!”
But O’Reilly, owner of Yerman’s Irish
Pub, isn’t too keen on the idea, saying
neighbors might complain about noise
or crowding. Th e city also announced
plans for restaurants to establish outdoor
seating, aft er Cuomo announced
outdoor dining will now be bumped up
to phase two.
For New York City, phase two might
come as early as June 22, according to
Eater.
Th e plans for phase two include curbside
seating without the need for application
or approval process by allowing them
to register and self-certify online. In the
coming weeks and months, the city will
also identify new Open Streets on commercial
strips with a large number of
restaurants and bars.
How long is too long?
New York City began phase one of
reopening on June 8, meaning “low risk”
of infection businesses like construction
can start up again. But restaurants and
bars, considered to have “high risk” of
infection, won’t reopen until phase three.
At least two weeks must pass between
each phase, meaning it would still take
until the fi rst week of July for restaurants
to reopen, according to a report
from Eater. Prior to Memorial Day weekend,
de Blasio announced the city would
increase police presence in nine “barheavy”
restaurants, including Astoria and
Long Island City, in order to enforce the
city’s new campaign:
“Take out, don’t hang out.” But this
was put in place before the city released
any guidelines for reopening, and could
result in businesses facing fi nes or other
enforcements, according to the New York
Daily News.
So while the city and state begin to alleviate
the stay-at-home order, there are still
many factors restaurateurs never thought
they had to consider — like keeping staff
and customers safe from contracting a
virus.
McSorley said fellow restaurateurs have
told her they don’t know whether they’ll
be able to open again if the lockdown
persists or they have to comply with too
many restrictions.
“I think politicians need to think about
it, is Astoria going to start to look like a
ghost town? Because some people will
not open up again because they just won’t
be able to manage with 30, 40 or 50 percent
capacity,” she said. O’Reilly wants to
open soon, “before people get sick of not
working.”
And for Vargas — who wants to see
pupusas (delicious, stuff ed and grilled
tortillas) shine right next to the taco —
stopping just isn’t an option. “I don’t want
to get sick. I think of my daughters and
my family … so we take care of ourselves
so that we can keep working,” Vargas said.
“We have to keep fi ghting because there’s
no other option.”
/WWW.QNS.COM
