“We haven’t really seen the government step up the way that they need to step up,” Steve Levin, City Council member for District 33 in Brooklyn, said. “In April we had a call with all of our federal counterparts and the message was to hang on, by the end of May we should have a good stimulus package. Summer came and went, no stimulus package. Small businesses need help, landlords need help.”

Phil Morgan, owner of Building on Bond, stands in front of the permanently closed restaurant. Photo by Courtney Guarino

Phil Morgan, owner of eatery Building on Bond, was forced, like many, to shut its doors due to the impact of COVID-19. Had Morgan been provided rent relief from his landlord, the restaurant would have celebrated their 13th anniversary this month. Throughout his speech, Morgan strained on the importance of building community through small businesses, and grieved at the loss of no longer being able to do so at his restaurant. 

“We created a neighborhood joint, where people can hang out, get their coffee, get their lunch, take their business meeting, have a first date, get engaged,” Morgan said. “It was about being a part of the community. And when I said this to my landlord he said, ‘I don’t give a sh*t.’”

Many of Morgan’s colleagues are doing about 10-30% of their sales from last year, he said.  Prior to COVID-19, Morgan was pulling in about $150,000 in sales. And that was during a slow month. Using his colleagues’ percentages as a measure, had he been open now, the restaurant’s sales would be around $20,000. With a monthly lease of $25,000, that would leave him with $5,000. Like many other restaurants facing the same problem, it’s just is not enough cash to make it work and the landlords are unbendable. 

A letter of closure hangs on the window of Building on Bond. Photo by Courtney Guarino

“My landlord was not willing to do anything, all he wanted was rent and that just doesn’t work,” Morgan said. “I negotiated with him for five months and the only thing he was willing to do was either get all of his rent or I had to hand the lease back. It made no sense to open up with that lease so we had to shut down. The landlord would not come to the table.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, despite job growth totaling 3.8 million in the last 5 months, employment in food services and drinking is still down by 2.3 million since February. And as of September 23, about one-third of the city’s restaurants and more than one-half of its bars have closed.

Natasha Amott, owner of retail kitchenware store Whisk in Brooklyn, is one of the lucky small businesses to come out of COVID somewhat unscathed by rental fees. Her and her landlord have been handling rent on a month to month basis, with a large reduction given in March and April when the pandemic was at its worst. 

But before we even knew the word COVID-19, Amott lost two Whisk locations due to an increase in rent and property taxes. In 2012, she paid $10,000 in property taxes on her Manhattan location. In just six  years, she saw over a 400% increase in property taxes to $54,000, forcing her to shut the doors. And that’s without even factoring in the cost of rent. 

Her past experiences, compounded with the inequities on commercial rent and property taxes that COVID-19 has illuminated, forced her to take a look at the bigger picture. 

“We need to look at new ways to imagine how businesses can start up,” Amott said. “We should be looking at changing how the standard lease works so we are not stuck with the property tax burdens so often. What I’m calling for is a reimagination on how we allow these contracts to develop.”

Megan Rickerson, owner of bar Someday Best, opened her doors July 2019 and has been able to stay afloat through the pandemic. At one point, she was doing it all– her chef taught her how to cook and  she made cocktails to keep overhead costs as low as possible. Rickerson would like to see relief for the landlords, too, in hopes of a trickle down effect on the tenants.

“My landlord is a decent person but he’s also saying he has no idea how long he can work with us because he is trying to stay afloat and survive,” said Rickerson. “He has a limit on his abilities. And I don’t know how long this is going to go for, so his abilities might run out next month.”

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Catholic schools in New York City were considered the go-to alternative for public schools in the early 1960s. But since then the schools have seen a major decline in enrollment. As a result, many of them have closed. The archdiocese has tried combatting the problem with a variety of approaches including lobbying the state legislature to create a tax credit for people who donate to Catholic schools, and allowing a private non-profit group to run daily operations of six schools. The results have been mixed, and combatting the problem of declining enrollment will be difficult because of the growing number of charter schools, which offer a similar educational experience and don’t charge tuition.

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H&H Bagels on the corner of W. 80th St. and Broadway has since moved out of its Upper West Side location. Photo by Elizabeth Vulaj.

After the recent closing of the popular H&H Bagels on W. 80th St. and Broadway, area residents now worry about the commercialization of the Upper West Side.

Marc Fintz, the business manager for H&H, attended a community meeting last month to discuss the store closing. James Besser, who led the meeting, said that it was the first gathering of the newly created Upper West Side Preservation Committee.

“Neighbors say hello to each other, we’re like a small town,” said Besser, the committee president who lobbied to keep the H&H open prior to its closure. “We want to keep it that way.”

After the store’s landlord, Friedland Properties, raised the monthly rent to $67,000, Fintz said H&H could not make the new payments without also raising it prices. He added that Friedland Properties is now trying to replace the old corner store with a bank – something that residents say takes away from the neighborhood charm.

“It takes away small businesses and makes everything appear cold and corporate,” said Martin Samama, who has been living on the Upper West Side for three years.

Residents like Samama say this closing could mean the neighborhood will eventually lose its cozy appeal and bring in more chain stores.

While the closure comes as a shock to some residents, Upper West Side H&H—which first opened in 1972—has experienced financial woes since last year when the shop’s president and founder Helmer Toro pleaded guilty to grand larceny after cheating on his taxes. According to reports, he stole more than $500,000 in employee taxes.

Still, the change does not sit well with those who frequented the eatery.

Polly Carter, who used to live on the Upper West Side, said each time she visits the area, she sees that another chain store has replaced a well-liked neighborhood joint.

“So many things change here,” she said, leaning back on a bench in Riverside Park, surveying the block. “Every time I come, there is something different. But I am glad to see places like Hot & Crusty and Filene’s. I’m glad to see those things haven’t moved.”

Other neighbors feel the same way.

“I don’t want the Upper West Side to be corporate,” said Laurie Graff, who has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years. “We are losing the individuation, the charm. I’m not excited to be able to go to the same five stores across the country.”

Fintz said he believes they will open up another H&H on the Upper West Side. But before the W. 80th St. location officially closed on June 22, Fintz said both employees and customers were reveling in the nostalgia, remembering how long the store has been in business.

“If you saw these employees working, they feel they are a part of something much bigger,” Fintz said. “People will come in and say, ‘My children are in their 40’s and they were teething on H&H bagels when they were small.’”

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