WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 24, 2020 7
The COVID-19 pandemic had devastated
Queens’ local economy, the
second-largest and most diversifi ed of
all the fi ve boroughs, with jobs across
the health care, retail trade, manufacturing,
construction, transportation,
and fi lm and television production
sectors. Small businesses act as an
important part of the borough’s economic
vitality with two-thirds of all
businesses employing between one to
four people.
In downtown Jamaica, a bustling
commercial transportation hub, the
streets were silent as businesses were
closed, according to Hope Knight, executive
director of the Greater Jamaica
Development Corporation.
“We never could’ve conceived a
situation like this. Some landlords are
asking for rent and there have been
layoff s of staff ,” Knight said.
Small businesses that were depending
on the federal government’s
bailout plan, known as the Payroll
Protection Program, did not receive
the fi rst round of funding in April to
keep their employees on payroll.
Thomas Grech, president of the
Queens Chamber of Commerce, had
called for the program to be replenished
to provide more federal funding
for small businesses, that he said are
the “lifeblood of Queens, and communities
across America.”
“With unemployment reaching
unprecedented levels, and business
owners grappling with how to make
payroll, pay rent and keep up with
other expenses, the time to act is now.
We don’t have a moment to waste with
inaction or play partisan politics,”
Grech said.
However, several establishments
in Queens that were considered a
staple in their communities had
closed permanently due to fi nancial
constraints.
In Astoria, the beloved restaurant
Queens Comfort closed its doors on
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW
Oct. 11 aft er more than nine years on
30th Avenue. While in Long Island
City, Corner Bistro had closed aft er
trying to survive on takeout and delivery
service.
Forest Hills’ Austin Street corridor
had lost Jack and Nellies, Sushi Yasu,
Ren Wen Noodle Factory and the historic
Forest Hills Diner. Though the
Irish Cottage had closed, it reopened
during the summer under new
management.
Even though new places were continuing
to open, it served as an incredibly
challenging time for restaurants,
such as American Brass in Long Island
City.
The owner, Robert Briskin, had to
create a new menu with food, beer
and wine, and packages for takeout
and delivery, he said.
After a three-month lockdown,
Cuomo had given New York City
restaurants the green light to off er
limited outdoor dining in Phase 2
of reopening, as early as June 22 —
two days after the official start of
summer.
De Blasio’s “Open Restaurants Plan”
included curbside seating by allowing
restaurants to convert parking spaces
in order to use the roadbed alongside
the curb for dine-in service. The city
has also allowed restaurants, who
are on the city’s Open Streets Initiative,
to create areas in front of their
establishments.
By June 29, Bayside’s Bell Boulevard
was bustling with life once again, as
patrons dined beneath the shade
awnings and surrounded by custom
dividers in order to help put diners at
ease while also giving them privacy.
Many business owners had taken
the opportunity to create a unique
ambiance to the sidewalk, like Chef
David Arias, creator of Spanglish NYC,
at 4004 Bell Blvd., who designed and
decorated wooden frames with an eyecatching
urban graffi ti style.
“We wanted to make something different
to get everyone’s attention. It’s
really positive that everybody is now
outside. Everybody is trying to get
life back again, so we tried to be very
creative in the things that we did,” said
Charlotte Zubieta, Arias’ mother.
Eventually, indoor dining had
reopened at limited capacity capped
at 25 percent. However, as the fall
season was approaching, there were
warnings of a spike in COVID-19 cases,
especially during the holiday season.
Then, once again, restaurateurs
were hit with a second order on Dec.
14 to close their doors for indoor service,
but were permitted to continue
outdoor dining and takeout/delivery
services.
Cuomo’s decision to suspend indoor
dining is a result of sustained increases
in the fi ve boroughs’ hospitalization
and COVID-19 positivity rates.
Queens Together, a grassroots
restaurant advocacy group and food
relief organization, had joined several
small business leaders across the
borough in the last months to call for
support.
Jonathan Forgosh, chef and cofounder
of Queens Together, suggested
immediate solutions such as putting
pressure on business interruption
insurance companies to respond to
restaurants; rent breaks; and freezing
punitive fi nes from state agencies.
For Marcos Munoz, owner of Mojitos
in Jackson Heights, the pause on
indoor dining is a “very hard blow”
not just for restaurant owners, but
everyone who is a part of the industry
and will be out of work.
Loycent Gordon, owner of Neir’s
Tavern in Woodhaven, said restaurants
have worked hard to comply
with the diff erent kinds of rules and
regulations put in place in response
to the pandemic and those that were
already there.
“Restaurant owners have mostly
been complying with rules and regulations
and investing in it for the safety
of our customers. Our infection rate
has been lower than the city average.
We’re bringing it down, however
we’re being punished,” Gordon said.
“This is a death sentence to the citizens
we’re supposed to be protecting. This
is wrong.”
While the city received its fi rst shipment
of Pfi zer and BioNTech’s COVID-
19 vaccines in December, de Blasio has
urged residents and businesses earlier
in the week to brace for a possible second
shutdown amid a citywide surge
in coronavirus cases.
The New York State Restaurant Association
is asking for a federal relief
package and sent a letter to Cuomo
asking for his support, calling the
timing “critical.”
Medical staff at Jamaica Hospital receive a special delivery of Indopancakes
from Papa Don NYC. Photo courtesy of Papa Don NYC
Photo courtesy of Mojito’s Restaurant
/WWW.QNS.COM
