COVID-Related Closures in Greenpoint and Williamsburg Near The 100 Mark

It’s no secret that times are tough for local businesses trying to navigate the coronavirus pandemic as the number of COVID-related closures in Greenpoint and Williamsburg since March nears the 100 mark.

A new video compiled by Layer Studio features one second clips of the shuttered storefronts (as of August 25) visualizing the small business crisis.

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To visualize the crisis local businesses continue to face this year during the pandemic @layer_nyc compiled one second video clips of the COVID-related closures (as of 8/25) in Greenpoint Williamsburg.

A post shared by greenpointers (@greenpointers) on Aug 26, 2020 at 6:19am PDT

The latest closures include neighborhood pizzeria and natural wine bar Adelina’s (159 Greenpoint Ave.), which celebrated their final day last weekend and Trophy Bar which will permanently close on August 30th.

A proposed partial solution by NY legislators including Senator Brian Kavanagh would grant 10 years of property tax breaks to landlords who negotiate new leases with commercial tenants to alleviate the burden of unpaid rent. “Small businesses that anchor our neighborhoods are struggling; half in NYC worry they won’t survive,” Kavanagh tweeted.

A list compiled last week by Cristal Calderon puts the current number of closures at 88 in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

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The rent and impending eviction crisis in Greenpoint and Williamsburg is a microcosm of what is happening in all five boroughs, and likely, what has already begun to happen across the nation. I am not able to track the number of people who have already fled the city in search of affordable housing, nor am I able to track the number of people who haven’t been able to pay rent in months and only have a roof over their heads until the eviction moratorium expires in NY on October 1. My hope is that this list will also serve to represent the dire effects of this pandemic on residential tenants as well as small businesses, many of whom are already being harassed by their landlords for non-payment. When the eviction moratorium is up, both small business tenants and residential tenants are liable for all months of back rent owed. I have heard from many members of the community that they simply do not have the funds to pay those growing debts. As we all know, this is due to lack of work, lack of child-care, fear of health risks/ death, lack of tourism, and loss of jobs. Please share this to help create more awareness. And please check websites and social media accounts for some of the businesses listed here that are still trying to survive online.

A post shared by 🔮 (@mazzycici) on Aug 19, 2020 at 8:11am PDT