Local businesses are beginning to open back up after being months of being shut down due to coronavirus. Salons and barbershops can now reopen, and I was able to get my first haircut in over three months. They are only allowed to have 50 percent of maximum occupancy for both employees and customers but are already getting lots of business since reopening on June 22.
In addition, restaurants now have outdoor dining and playgrounds are open (with social distancing rules still in place.) Non-essential businesses can now open with 50 percent of occupancy and the same goes for offices.
Houses of worship are able to reopen, though with just 25 percent of occupancy. I was able to speak Monseigneur Guy Massie of St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church, located at 125 Summit St. in Carroll Gardens. It has been a challenging past few months for Massie and the church.
“It was a very lonely time but we developed a program called Tea and Talk, which provided me with a venue to talk to parishioners outside the mass,” said Massie. “We live streamed and people could text in questions. We would usually move from serious topics early on to some lighter topics while answering questions.”
It was a way for Massie to try to bring people together even though he had to do so from home. It also provided a small sense of normalcy during a very strange and difficult time.
“It’s been a very lonely time and I would never like to do this again,” said Massie. “I’m grateful for the recent plans to open up but they are very slow so it won’t be the same as before.”
The church will only allow people inside who are wearing a mask and everyone will have to use hand sanitizer after entering and before leaving. As of now, no one is allowed to light a candle or go see images of the saints.
“It’s usually a very busy parish,” said Massie. “From 10 AM on, there’s used to be lots going on after mass, including activities for kids, and choir, then all of a sudden there was nothing. I’m looking forward to having people around and talking to people again. It’s felt like an eternity.”
Fulton Mall revives
Many employees from businesses throughout Brooklyn feel the same way. One of those employees is Carolyn Bonilla who has been working at Macy’s (located at 422 Fulton St.) for the past 22 years.
“It was painful and heartbreaking leaving when we had to close the store down but I knew Macy’s would be good to us employees since I’ve been there for over 20 years,” said Bonilla. “They picked someone during from each department to work when we started curbside pickup.”
She was happy to be back inside the store with coworkers she hadn’t seen for the past three months. She also felt grateful to work for Macy’s.
“I didn’t know exactly what to expect but it’s been pretty normal,” said Bonilla. “Just masks everywhere. Macy’s always puts the customer first, but they made sure we (employees) were first too.”
While the store wasn’t as crowded as it usually was before the pandemic, there were still quite a few costumers inside. Bonilla also said she was grateful that Macy’s treated her well and helped her get through the three months the store was closed.
A few customers told me they had used the curbside pickup but preferred being able to go to the store and went shopping at Macy’s the first day it reopened.
“I used the the curbside pickup for shopping and the service was good but I didn’t like it as much as going to the store,” said Anna Johnson. “I like to browse around and go with friends so I’m just happy they’re open again.”
Her friends agreed and said it was a chance for them to do something together again after they were all stuck at home for awhile.
Furniture makes a Red Hook comeback
It was a similar situation for local residents who wanted to shop at IKEA, located at 1 Beard St. in Red Hook. The store reopened at 25 percent of its capacity on Tuesday June 23.
“We’re glad to be able to come here again,” said Diana Morales, who was shopping with her husband. “It’s been a long couple of months.”
While IKEA just reopened, they were able to give back to the Red Hook community in the months they were closed.
“We were able to stay connected with the local community during the pandemic because we already had close ties to the community,” said Lorna Montalvo, a loyalty marketing manager, who has worked for IKEA for 12 years.
IKEA donated to many small businesses and nonprofits, Northwell Health, local schools, including P.S. 676 and other programs including the Red Hook Arts Project. With the store closed, IKEA wasn’t able to sell plants so they ended up donating a lot of their plants too.
IKEA also checked in with employees while the store was shutdown to check not their wellbeing. Furloughed employees began returning to work in the first week of May said Montero.
The store has made numerous changes and regulations to prevent the spread of coronavirus now that it has reopened. Everyone is required to wear a mask. The lunch area is now closed to the public and employees must stay six feet apart while eating. There are hand sanitizer stations throughout the store, including where employees eat. There are signs and stickers all over IKEA reminding customers about social distancing polices.
“Thank goodness our customers are following through on social distance standards and that feels really good,” said Montalvo.
New Yorkers abiding by policies is an encouraging sign and so far people have gone to IKEA, Macy’s and St. Stephen’s Church have been doing just that.
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