Support Mom & Pop in the Time of Corona

The coronavirus shutdown has shuttered the restaurants, shops, and bars of New York City. Our independent mom and pops are struggling to survive--and they absolutely may not be here when the crisis is over. Imagine coming out of quarantine to find a totally vanished New York, all your favorite bookshops and restaurants, bars and cafes gone forever. This is your chance to take action and help save our vital and beloved spaces.

This list is a place to start--and crowd source. Add your favorites in the comments--but be sure to include contact information and links that include info about ways to easily make donations or place orders from home. I will update this list as much as possible. As always, patronize your neighborhood places--order take-out or pick up, buy gift certificates, and make donations--you could choose one per day and keep them in rotation as part of your daily routine.

Until our elected officials figure out it's time to pass legislation to protect small businesses, let's get together and #SaveNYC--we are all in this together. 




Manhattan

Gem Spa
Support this famous corner store in the East Village
Visit: GoFundMe
Buy merchandise: Gem Spa

B&H Dairy
Donate to help pay employees, rent, and utilities
Visit: GoFundMe

Three Lives & Co. Books
Free hand-delivery of books within the West Village, shipping via UPS to anywhere in the country. Call 212.741.2069 or send an email (info@threelives.com) to order books remotely.

Marie's Crisis Piano Bar
Virtually open via Facebook with live music and sing-alongs
Visit: Facebook -- tip your piano players!

Arturo's
Support this gorgeous Village pizza place, bar, and music venue (since 1957) by ordering delivery, pick-up, and cocktails to go. You can also buy gift cards.
Visit: 106 West Houston St. at Thompson, and call 212-677-3820


photo: Mary Clarke

Bureau of General Services Queer Division
Make a tax-deductible donation to this LGBTQ bookstore in the Village. You can also order books and have them shipped to you. Send an email to CONTACT@BGSQD.COM with the details of your order. They can take Venmo, Paypal, or a credit card over the phone.
Visit: Website

McNally Jackson Bookstore
You can buy gift cards and order delivery
Visit: Website
And support the laid-off workers of McNally Jackson here

Bluestockings
Make a donation to this collectively run bookstore and activist event space on the Lower East Side
Visit: Website
You can also buy gift certificates for later purchases

Film Forum
Donate or become a member
Visit: Website

Cinema Village
Buy gift cards to this classic independent movie theater, become a member, make a donation
Visit: Website

Village East Cinema
Gift cards via City Cinemas
Visit: Website

Economy Candy
Order candy online
Visit: website

Staff Fundraisers for closed bars:

Find your favorite place and tip your bartenders each time you drink at home!

Julius' Bar
Visit: Gofundme

Dream Baby
Visit: GoFundMe

Otto's Shrunken Head
Visit: GoFundMe


Brooklyn

The Double Windsor
Help support their employees
Visit: GoFundMe

The Gate
Help support their employees
Visit: GoFundMe

Queens

Neir's Tavern
New York's oldest bar now offers take-out and curbside options
Visit: Menu


Bronx

Staten Island



More Things You Can Do:

- Tip your delivery people very well--they are risking their health to keep working for you

- Virtually tip your favorite bartenders (here's a list)

- Buy movie theater passes that you will use in the After Time

- Avoid Amazon and order delivery from local shops

- Avoid the chain grocers and shop from your local mom and pop -- they have all the toilet paper

- Now is the time to demand action from your local elected officials. Write to your city council member and tell them to pass legislation immediately to protect mom and pop. There's the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (click here and here for more information and ways to take action from home) and the Commercial Rent Stabilization bill (click here to take action from home) to choose from.

Three Lives Now Delivers

During this coronavirus crisis, it is vitally important that we all support our local mom-and-pop businesses. Three Lives & Co. bookstore is a great source for buying books--which you'll want during quarantine--and they're making it easy to shop by offering free delivery in the Village.



They write:

Over the past week, we have received numerous queries about our plans for the shop in the context of COVID-19. Our main concern is, of course, the wellbeing of our staff and customers, and our first priority is ensuring that the shop is a clean and safe place for all. Though we will take cues from health and science experts as the situation changes, we are currently maintaining our regular hours (10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and 12 noon-7 p.m. on Sunday).

We acknowledge that some of you may be suspending your regular routines and venturing out less often. With that in mind, we are now offering free hand-delivery of books within the West Village—and we can, as always, ship via UPS to anywhere else in the country. Please call (212.741.2069) or send us an email (info@threelives.com) if you’d like to order books remotely. It is an uncertain time to be living in New York, but that does not mean we need to forgo great books.

If you can stop by in the coming weeks, we would love to see you. If you cannot, we still want to know how you are doing, what you are reading, and which books you are looking forward to picking up—there are so many to be excited about, including recent titles from Hilary Mantel, James McBride, Maira Kalman, Colum McCann, Lily King, and Melissa Clark. Our shelves are full, so let’s talk books.

Three Lives & Company
154 W 10 Street
NY NY 10014
212.741.2069

Egg Cream Day at Gem Spa

Sunday is National Egg Cream Day. Up for venturing out? Visit Gem Spa--get an egg cream and (while supplies last) an egg cream mask, which won't protect you from the coronavirus, but will enable you to drink a delicious egg cream.



Want to support this legendary East Village institution remotely? Donate to their Go Fund Me, just launched today, and help them stay in business.

Gem Spa writes: "We will be giving Gem Spa merchandise to donors in return for their generosity. We understand that with the coronavirus scare many people are choosing to stay at home but would still like to support. As such, feel free to go on our website if you choose to buy merchandise... Thank you so much for all your love and support."

The fight to save this Gem continues!

Fine & Schapiro

VANISHING

After news about the Upper West Side's Fine & Schapiro closing for renovations, word has come out that it will not be reopening.


photo: Manhattan Sideways

On Facebook, Manhattans Sideways reports, "Fine & Schapiro, an institution on West 72nd Street since 1927 has closed. They have very sadly lost their lease as confirmed by the staff members who have worked here for decades." Another tipster writes, "The landlord jacked the rent."

*Update: West Side Rag reports, “They had two years left on their lease. Business was slow. Because of their age and bad health, they decided to close. That’s the story,” said Joe Kizner, manager of the building. The paper was unable to get in touch with the owners of the business.

Bowery Kitchen Supplies

VANISHING

Bowery Kitchen Supplies has been doing business in Chelsea Market since 1996. Now they're closing.



"We have no choice but to close our doors," they write in their posted notice, listing the reasons: "The soaring rents and extra charges by corporate landlords, the rapid and dramatic changes in the retail landscape especially for 'brick and mortar' businesses and finally an aggressive NY state and city tax bureau."

Last week, they wrote on their Facebook page, "As a small business in NYC we struggle thru many crises, we ourselves thru 9/11, hurricanes, outages and on. Never any help from the government, just higher taxes. And now high rents and next day delivery are taking their toll on the few that survived."



Bowery Kitchen Supplies originally opened on the Bowery in 1975, founded by the Nourieli family.

Google purchased their home, Chelsea Market, for $2.4 billion in 2018, in what's been called "the second-largest full single-asset sale ever" in the city.

Papaya to High-Rent Blight

The beloved and successful Gray's Papaya was kicked off 8th St. and 6th Ave. in 2014 by a massive rent hike. As Mr. Gray told the Village Voice, "They wanted to raise my rent to $50,000 from $30,000."


2008

It became a Liquiteria juice and smoothie shop. For about 5 seconds.

Now it's nothing but more high-rent blight.


today

It's located across the street from what might just be the longest-running high-rent blight in town, the former Barnes & Noble that's been sitting empty since 2013.

At that site, written on the window over the ever-present "flagship opportunity" advertisement, someone has scrawled, "There's Never a Bad Time to Abolish Capitalism."

Indeed. (While we're at it, let's bring back the always popular dogs and papaya.)

Yonah Shimmel's 110th

On Sunday March 15, the great Yonah Shimmel knishery will celebrate 110 years in business on the Lower East Side. The first 110 knishes will sell for $1.10 each.

Go get 'em! And grab a delicious egg cream while you're at it.