26 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Title: Martha’s Country Bakery in Forest Hills reopens
following health violations shutdown
Summary: After it was temporarily shut down by the
city Health Department for several violations, Martha’s
Country Bakery in Forest Hills reopened its doors for
business last week.
Reach: 12,280 (as of 08/30/2021)
Trouble on the bend
It’s no secret that the economy’s in a
far better place now than it was during
the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
in March 2020 — when businesses
shuttered en masse, workers were laid
off and 20 percent of New York City’s
workforce was out of a job.
Massive infusions of government
benefi ts helped millions of people
avoid abject poverty and suff ering at
the height of the crisis. Th e economy
began reopening and the unemployment
rate began to drop signifi cantly
as people returned to work.
Still today, millions of Americans
remain unemployed, but they’re keeping
food on their tables and roofs over
their heads because of the continued
benefi ts. But 7.5 million of these
recipients — including an estimated
800,000 in New York City alone —
have big trouble looming just around
the corner.
As of Sept. 5, most of these unemployed
Americans will see their benefi
ts expire; others will see their benefi
ts pared down to their state minimum
as the $300 weekly federal supplement
also sunsets.
In New York City alone, according to
a report issued Aug. 26 by the Center
for New York City Aff airs, this could
result in an estimated income loss of
$463 million per week. Th at’s a devastating
hit not only for those recipients
who are about to lose their benefi
ts, but also the entire city’s economy.
It’s the equivalent of New York City
losing 800,000 jobs overnight — something
which happened in March 2020.
Back then, offi cials were scrambling
for a solution. Now, all is disturbingly
quiet on the front.
Th e massive infusion of federal funding
through the American Rescue Plan
earlier this year has given New York
enough resources to extend unemployment
benefi ts. Earlier this month,
President Biden previously encouraged
individual states to tap into federal
resources in this manner. Certainly,
such actions would be far swift er than
waiting on a divided Congress to pass
another round of extensions.
Th e new Hochul administration in
Albany has yet to indicate whether it
would follow Biden’s advice, but we
feel that they may not have any other
choice but to do so. Th e Empire State
stands to take a catastrophic economic
hit aft er Sept. 5 if these benefi ts are
allowed to expire.
A six-month or one-year extension
buys time for the economy to further
heal, and for the state and federal governments
to develop a plan to get more
people back to work at higher wages
they’ve long needed.
Photo by Andrew Kelly/REUTERS
As of Sept. 5, most unemployed Americans will see their benefi ts expire, which could result in an estimated
income loss of $463 million per week, according to a report issued by the Center for New York City Aff airs.
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