4 MARCH 26, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Ridgewood gym sending daily workout videos
BY BENJAMIN MANDILE
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
For fi tness lovers stuck at home,
one Ridgewood-based fitness
club has the answer: an email
blast with workouts and recipes, sent
daily.
Force Fitness Club which has a membership
of more than 2,000 people has
been sending a daily email out at 9 a.m.
fi lled with work-out video instruction,
a recipe for the day and motivation.
“Everybody’s gonna be stuck at
home, our members, the community,
so we wanted to put out as much content
as possible,” said Michael Romer,
owner of Force Fitness Club.
Signing up for the daily email is
free, even for those without a membership
to the club.
“Being stuck at home is an easy way
to get out of shape,” said Romer.
The response the club has seen to
the online instruction is more than
the club anticipated, with about 130
people without a membership opting
into the email in the last few days.
The videos are created by fi ve to six
coaches working for the gym in their
homes, as the gym had to shutter its
doors March 16 due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
The gym did see the need to close
before it was asked to, so Romer
started making videos about a week
Michael Romer (r.) with co-owner Vincent Ruddy and Ruddy’s daughter Gianna. Courtesy of Force Fitness Club
before the closure.
Force Fitness Club, which opened
in 2008 and is located at 63-03 Fresh
Pond Road, estimates it can survive
as a business for no more than six
months, but does see itself surviving
for a couple of months because of the
memberships it has previously sold.
The health and fitness industry
has started to petition for federal
assistance to help during the pandemic
that has now grown to 21,689
cases reported in New York state as
of Tuesday morning and 33,404 reported
cases nationwide.
Coronavirus pandemic will cause up to $6B in losses: Stringer
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@QNS.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Job losses and business shutdowns
related to the coronavirus
pandemic will blow giant
holes in New York City’s budgets,
according to City Comptroller Scott
Stringer.
Depending on how long the
outbreak persists in New York
City, the projected revenue losses
could reach $6 billion by the end
of June, Stringer said. Previously,
the comptroller had estimated
$3.2 billion in lost revenue — but
that was before the rash of layoffs
and lost business citywide over
the past week, as social distancing
measures and emergency closure
orders took hold.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is already
putting enormous financial
strain on our city’s workers as
millions of New Yorkers grapple
with the uncertainty of their next
paycheck, paying rent and taking
care of their families. At the same
time, the massive slowdown of our
city’s economy is going to result in
substantial losses of the tax revenue
that keep this city running,”
said Stringer.
The dreadful economic forecast
is largely based on an anticipated
“very sharp decline” in business at
hotels, restaurants, retail and cultural
institutions. These businesses
have either severely curtailed or
closed altogether due to emergency
regulations imposed to combat the
rapid spread of coronavirus.
In the best-case scenario,
Stringer said, economic losses for
New York City’s government would
be in the range of about $4.8 billion
if the outbreak is abated in May.
The worst-case scenario, in which
the pandemic lasts the until June,
would cost the city $6 billion.
The pandemic’s costs will not
only impact the current Fiscal Year
2020 but the next budget as well,
Stringer said. The new fiscal year
arrives for New York City on July
1, and the City Council and mayor
have until June 30 to hammer out
a new spending plan.
Stringer expects the coronavirus
pandemic will cause budget
shortfalls of up to $1.5 billion for
the current fiscal year, and up to
$4.8 billion for Fiscal Year 2021.
Before the outbreak, the city had
anticipated a $2.7 billion budget
surplus which it had planned to use
for the next fiscal year. Stringer
says the city can use the surplus
and other savings to close the current
budget gap, but that would
force the city to find ways to close
an even larger deficit next fiscal
year.
The comptroller called upon city
government to enact a “Program to
Eliminate the Gap” (PEG) to find areas
where budget reductions could
be made.
Stringer also urged the federal
government to step in an provide
economic relief for New Yorkers
and businesses in dire need. This
includes direct cash assistance for
families, small business and nonprofit
loans, expanded unemployment
insurance, paid sick leave and
financial support for state and city
governments.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer
Photo by Susan Watts/Offi ce of New York City Comptroller
/WWW.QNS.COM
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