Long COVID winter is coming (reprise)

  

Queens Post

 

About 80 attendees gathered outside a Long Island City restaurant Friday to bring attention to the hardship facing many small businesses.

Elected officials and a coalition of Queens business owners met outside Little Chef Little Café, located at 5-43 48^th Ave., and called on the federal government and local leaders to help them get through the economic crisis and navigate stricter lockdown measures before they are forced to permanently close.

The business owners appealed to city, state and federal officials for financial relief and other assistance. Organizers used the hashtag “SAVE OUR SMALL BIZ” to highlight their cause and several supporters carried signs with “rent relief” written across them.

The event was organized by the Western Queens Small Business Council, small business owners and other local business advocates. State Senator Jessica Ramos, Assembly Member Ron Kim and Assembly members-elect Zohran Mamdani and Jessica González-Rojas were also present along with Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and Queens Borough President-elect Donovan Richards.

Organizers took particular aim at Washington and said that the New York Congressional delegation needs to come up with a proper recovery plan that would include a bailout package and rent relief for small businesses.

“Get out of all the federal stuff and come home and help us,” said Roseann McSorley, the owner of Katch Astoria, who led the event.

“This is a crisis…the businesses in this borough and every borough are going to fail, we aren’t going to survive,” McSorley said.

McSorley said that small businesses should be treated like airlines and other major corporations that have been given federal funds.

Several business owners described the struggles they are facing to stay out of the red with restricted indoor capacity and earlier closing times being of particular concern to restaurant and gym operators. They said that they have received little direction from the city and state with regard to the ever-changing regulations.

They appealed for clearer COVID-19 operating guidelines that are translatable and understandable.

That message was echoed by Ramos who said that Governor Andrew Cuomo has failed to help small businesses through the pandemic.

“The governor has been twiddling his thumbs for the past seven months, he’s done nothing,” Ramos said.