By COLlive reporter
Owners of small businesses across New York City are demanding that Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo allow them to reopen for operation, just like the “big box” stores as the Covid-19 shutdown is gradually lifted.
The movement was propelled by a video by Simcha Minkowitz, owner of Amor Fine Jewelry in Boro Park, Brooklyn, who asked why small stores such as hers aren’t allowed to operate while keeping social distancing guidelines.
“My husband and I are small business owners, and we worked really hard to build our business, literally put in our heart and soul to provide for our family as best as we can,” she says in the video that has been widely shared.
Minkowitz says they shut their doors when they were told to at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, after some time has passed, she notes that the contrast is unfair.
“It is very hard for us to look around and see that Walmart can be open, and Costco can be open, and 7-11 can be open, but I, a store owner, cannot open my doors,” she said.
“Why are our politicians favoring the chain stores?” she asks. “Why are they punishing the young small fledgling companies…some of them literally trying their best to scrape by and make a living for their families?”
CBS New York reported that the video has been viewed more than 270,000 times on social media since originally being posted on Facebook and Instagram.
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce estimates 20,000 small businesses may not survive the pandemic and may never reopen their doors.
VIDEO:
A petition started by another small business owner is asking for support in getting the attention of the Governor and Mayor.
“We need the local small stores to open up NOW. Our businesses are hurting terribly and WE closed to help YOU flatten the curve,” they wrote.
“We accomplished that goal together and got NYS under control. Now WE need YOUR help! Please allow us to open up!
“We know that you are not purposely trying to hurt our businesses but WE ARE HURTING!
“We promise to open safely. We will enforce social distancing, masks and/or sanitizing when necessary. Let NY flourish again!”
Click here to sign the petition
Follow the campaign on Instagram: www.instagram.com/reopenny
The bodegas on the corners open, JC Penny and Bloomingdales are not. It’s not about small vs. large it’s about whether they sell essential supplies.
Omg couldn’t have said it better myself! I’m so frustrated at the new attitude of why not me?! I mean people if we want this to end then we need to follow the rules, its tough for everyone!! Everyone is hurting we need to realize that and move on. It’s all on hashem’s hands at the end of the day
It’s essential for someone to make a living to feed their children. Should people die of starvation or social distance in a store. I think the answer I quite simple.
If they can’t support their families, how are they going to afford the essentials? Seriously people
The Rules to follow were set in the Constitution of The United States of America. What we are following now are whims and fiats of progressive tyrants who have an agenda to pursue without a second thought about whatever happens to their citizens. We listened. We followed the rules. We “flattened the curve”. We “mitigated”. Why in heaven’s name are we still on “pause”? Keeping businesses closed is no longer about saving lives. You want to save lives? For REAL? Then let people go back to work, earn a living, get some sun and fresh air, build up their immunity,… Read more »
“The liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States to every person within its jurisdiction does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint. There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good. On any other basis organized society could not exist with safety to its members.”
-United States Supreme Court, 1905, Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts
I appreciate what you wrote and it resonated with me. I just don’t understand why more people don’t see that this COVID thing has been blown out or proportion. Yes people died, yes its seroius, but this is bringing the country to its knees because of politics. Something does not jive.
If the governors in the blue states are so concerned about the virus spreading why did they put patients with the virus into nursing homes throughout their states?
Who cares if you are essentiall are not, if you can keep proper social distancing, your livelihood shouldnt be destroyed.
But it still doesn’t make sense. It’s much easier to control the spread of a virus in a small business than it is in Walmart with tons of people.
It’s impossible to ignore the fact that we’ve built an economy (or allowed it to become) favorable to larger business with deep pockets. This isn’t something new under Corona, but a problem going back a few decades where a Walmart or a Costco comes into a community and wipes out hundreds of small businesses. This is exasperated every time there’s a recession, the small guy gets wiped out and can’t come back, while the large company can get capital to weather the storm. Government policies HELP this. Then when someone calls it out, we call them out as “socialists” without… Read more »
This is not about essential supplies…
It’s about cultivating a mindset that entrepreneurs should be “punished” (like children) because entrepreneurship epitomizes capitalism. Punish the entrepreneur, because in the socialist dogma, “big” is good – big government, big school systems that teach government-approved facts, big chain stores (eventually government owned) – since “big” allows for more surveillance. “Small” thinks for itself.
Neurolingustic programming (NLP) is being used with terms such as “safe” and “protected” – these are words meant to turn you into a well-behaving child (sorry, citizen).
Why is it okay for a customer to walk into Costco with hundreds of other people in the building just to purchase Jewerly and this Jeweler can’t let in one customer at a time?
The small business is suffering! I feel for all of them! All politicians have an agenda that is NOT about our health
Sounds like every politician… No, you politicians dont feel us hurting, U still have a job, U dont have kids running around your Brooklyn apartment..
Enough the numbers have gone down dramatically and it’s time to start opening up shop!
I feel for her All the way. Why shouldn’t she and her husband be able to open up their business. They need to make a living and support their six children.
Her point is; now that the curve has flattened, why is your need to be able to buy food at the corner store deem it essential so as to allow for the store to be open, but her need (and the 10,000’s of small store owners) to have money so that she can pay for the food, not essential?
why not open by appointment, in the current climate people are not really going into jewelry stores or anywhere else for that matter just to browse…. Wishing you hatzalach and strength to overcome this!
Don’t pick and choose it doesn’t make sense,I’ve seen in park store a bicycle store open with a big line of people outside.is that essential??!!
She can not open her business, she does not give millions of dollars to politicians every year!
It’s not fair to the big companies that pay for laws that make them untouchable and monopolistic. if she wants to open she’ll just have to bribe the politicians as all the big companies do!
are not being allowed to open. They are being given money, which comes from taxes which middle class people who own small businesses contribute a much greater rate than the wealthy. The demand from small businesses should not be to open but to get the bailout they deserve.
There is a difference between the money the Gov. steals from you and bribes
All businesses are essential, to the people who own them and have to feed their families.
Just wondering why they don’t make appointments one at a time ? I mean people don’t come browse for jewelry for no reason . Unless I’m hopelessly naive ?! Let her open by appointment only . Once the whole avenue opens then this virus will get back in it’s deadly track . Stores should open for appointment not for browsing pleasure .
She definitely has a point 100% but all the stores she mentioned are considered essential businesses and unfortunately hers is not-simply. There are many things happening right now to help small businesses so she can apply for those programs andddd selling online is an option
Ok , so these loans are really helpful for payroll cuz the point of that gov help is that ppl should be fired . It doesn’t help with fixed costs that a business has.
So that means things like Mortgage etc.
if you don’t have employees , ( or even if you do ) the loans don’t help with most things
Why not bring a case of potato chips and seltzer to the store and sell those?
Once you’re open you can sell jewelry as well just like the other stores selling food also sell many (or even more) other non essential items.
Good for her that she made her own video and put it out there along with family members who’s relatives were victim’s of the hospital abuse. It’s best not to depend on the mainstream frum publications to be our advocates yet we advocate for ourselves and sometimes the story gets published. Many people feel the way she does find they are not given a voice until they do so for themselves!
they can definitely set it up in small stores
B”H
I think this presentation would be better if she would make her point without being combative or accusatory. (The video is pretty good until a certain point where it becomes combative). The point is that she’s requesting that stores which can completely adhere to social distancing should be allowed to be open even if they’re not essential. That itself is a strong case. There’s no need to mix in anything else.
Her store is on 13th Avenue. The place is basically open with each store making its own guidelines. If Amor opens and allows one customer in at a time she will not be penalized. The shoe stores and toy stores are open!
The government should be bailing out all small businesses. Not the rich giant corporations. Most of the money that should’ve gone to help people who run small businesses went to giant rich corporations. So instead of insisting that you open your business and potentially endanger lives, insist that the government actually bail out small businesses and stop giving tax cuts and bailouts to the extremely wealthy.
Does the government not remember the Great Depression? It would seem not, because the government is acting exactly like Hoover did back in the day. Too little and (hopefully not) too late. The government should learn from mistakes , and not repeat them, Don’t cause another depression.
You make a good point.
Look when we were all out the virus was spreading much faster, there’s a reason it calmed down, it did a lot of long lasting damage to people and many people lost their lives, I don’t think you realize this thing isn’t a joke! It’s nothing just America did, if you look around you naive people the whole world shut down, and yes those places that worked along and weren’t “aiber chochoms”
I think they’re going to let her reopen on November 4th if Joe Biden wins
He won’t win but you’re correct about NOV 4
Demonkrouts are trying to destroy the economy to blame Trump.
Sorry bikes are essential bc kids are going crazy with no school and for their sanity they need fresh air.