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QUEENS WEEKLY, JUNE 14, 2020
Queens restaurants, bars work to survive amid uncertain future
how some of the first 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 financing,
according to Politico.
The 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 qualified 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
Thursday 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.
The 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 effect.
The 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 thirdparty
delivery is a big step,
as restaurateurs voiced their
critiques of how delivery
businesses cut into their
profits 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). The Open Streets
program is largely supported
by restaurant owners, City
Council, and community
members.
The Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association is advocating
for more pedestrianonly
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. The
city also announced plans
for restaurants to establish
outdoor seating, after 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.
The 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 first 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 “bar-heavy” 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 fines
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,
stuffed 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
fighting because there’s no
other option.”
Staff member Mo Nabil and Katch Astoria co-owner Roseann McSorley. Photo by Angélica Acevedo
Ricas Pupusas Y Mas set up a table in front of their door so
customers wait outside for their food.
Photo by Angélica Acevedo