Small business owners across NY began carefully reopening today in an effort to feed their families and provide for their employees. The ReopenNY movement has nearly 1,000 Jewish and non-Jewish stores and small businesses in the group and their petition for the reopening of NY had nearly 10,000 signatures in under one week.
In the Five Towns, Monsey and Crown Heights neighborhoods, many stores opened cautiously and quietly. Several stores had signs in their windows promoting their safety measures and the fact that they are a safer alternative to big box retailers.
Some stores opened boldly, with the lights on and serving customers one at a time and having others wait outside. Some stores papered over their windows and held appointments only.
In Boro Park and Williamsburg however, the scene quickly devolved into chaos (See below videos). The streets were overcrowded and several passersby could be seen taking pictures and seemingly calling the police. The police began quickly closing stores down and minor verbal confrontations ensued. The lack of masks and social distancing did not help the cause and one Boro Park store owner who was interviewed stated, “We appreciate the support of the community and their efforts to shop by us in large numbers. But we really need the customers to wear masks and wait patiently and socially distance. Otherwise it backfires and we get shut down or make a chillul Hashem.”
Ultimately, these small business owners allege that they are unfairly targeted by Cuomo’s Executive Order that allows Walmart and similar large retailers to sell anything and which has resulted in lengthy daily lines at the big box retailers while small businesses cannot legally reopen, even to serve one customer at a time.
After holding a press conference last week and retaining a lawyer, the ReopenNY movement launched and stores began reopening. Several opened today with more stores slated to reopen this week.
The public is encouraged to help these small businesses by shopping local but by being mindful of safety and hygiene.
