34 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • APRIL 9, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
Fundraiser supports local pizzerias by
delivering to COVID-19 healthcare workers
BY GRANT LANCASTER
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
A campaign created to support local
pizzerias and feed aid workers during the
COVID-19 viral outbreak has delivered
about 3,500 pizzas in just over a week,
raising more than $196,000 for the cause.
Th e Pizza vs. Pandemic campaign is
a fundraiser that works with owners of
local pizzerias who may be struggling
fi nancially during the outbreak to deliver
pizzas to doctors, nurses and other care
workers across 22 states so far.
Th e project is the result of a partnership
Photos courtesy of Pizza vs Pandemic
Historic Neir’s Tavern temporarily closes due to COVID-19
“I’ve fought for Neir’s
Tavern for over 11 years
and if this closure saves
one life, then it’s worth
it to throw away 190
years of continuous
operation. We have
entered into a new paradigm.”
Loycent Gordon
Neir’s Tavern owner
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Historic Neir’s Tavern is temporarily
closing due to the nationwide social distancing
guidelines getting extended to the
end of April in order to prevent the further
spread of COVID-19.
“Today, as the owner of New York City’s
oldest bar and grill, I fall back on my
10-year principle of people over profi t,”
said Loycent Gordon, the owner of the
191-year-old restaurant located on 87-48
78th St. in Woodhaven.
Tuesday, March 31 (or what many know
as Takeout Tuesday) was their last operating
day until the social distancing mandate
is lift ed.
Gordon said that his business diligently
worked to transition to the statewide takeout
and delivery model by using online
ordering, online gift cards, foregoing all
owner salary, and almost immediately
created a GoFundMe page for their staff
— which raised $5,000 in less than a week.
But Gordon believes that as the virus
continues to spread, remaining open
under the mandated structure may still
cause undue risk to his staff and guests,
and jeopardize the long-term viability “of
the Neir’s Tavern we know and love.”
“I’ve fought for Neir’s Tavern for over
11 years and if this closure saves one life,
then it’s worth it to throw away 190 years
of continuous operation,” Gordon said.
“We have entered into a new paradigm.”
Gordon added that with the money
raised through GoFundMe and government
assistance they can apply for, they
will keep staff on payroll as long as possible
“so they have nothing to worry about.”
“I am a socially conscious entrepreneur
that understands I can rebuild a business,
but I cannot rebuild a life,” Gordon said.
He hopes his fellow local businesses will
do the same.
“I call on the local business community
to evaluate your own personal situation
to ensure the present business climate
and mandated business model aligns with
your values,” Gordon said.
Gordon is also calling for delivery apps
to work with local restaurants. Last week,
he advocated for Uber Eats and other
delivery apps to be transparent with the
messages they’re sending to restaurant
owners during this pandemic.
A fellow local business owner felt cheated
aft er he found he was still charged a
30 percent commission fee in his weekly
report from Uber Eats, even though
he thought that fee would be waived aft er
seeing the news that Uber Eats and other
delivery apps like Grubhub announced
changes to their conditions to assist struggling
restaurants during this time.
“I call on delivery apps to work with
local restaurants you’ve built a billion
dollar business on the backs of,”
he said. “I will continue to evaluate any
socially conscious role Neir’s Tavern
may play to feed our frontline workers
fi ghting this pandemic and those
in our community unable to buy food
for their families during this inevitable
depression.”
Photo courtesy of Flickr user The Whistling Monkey
The exterior of Neir’s Tavern in 2016
between Slice, a NY-based company
that helps local pizzerias across the
country develop online ordering platforms
to modernize their delivery business,
Slice Out Hunger, which raises
money for hunger relief eff orts by partnering
with the pizza industry, and Pizza
to the Polls, a nonprofi t that uses donations
to buy pizza for people in long lines
at the polls.
Ilir Sela, founder and CEO of Slice, is
thrilled that what started as an idea less
than two weeks ago has already had such
an impact on the community, he said.
Although the fundraiser serves nationwide,
many of the donations have been
in New York and the surrounding states
because of the greater impact of the virus
in this region, Sela said.
Th e organizers at Pizza vs Pandemic
ask their donors for recommendations
of hospitals, shelters and other care centers
that have been greatly aff ected by the
virus, then match them with a nearby pizzeria
that can fi ll the order and could use
the support because of the elimination of
dine-in services.
One of the steps of this matching process
is making sure that the pizzerias use
proper employee and food safety precautions
during the outbreak and contacting
the group that will receive the pizzas to
fi nd out how much they can use.
People can donate or send suggestions
for care workers in need of a
meal on the group’s website, or contact
@SliceOutHunger.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
