Small companies in Brooklyn are nonetheless struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Many small companies in Brooklyn are nonetheless struggling to remain afloat as the town marks two years for the reason that coronavirus pandemic began shutting issues down, a brand new survey reveals.
Whereas the town took some steps to return to normalcy in 2021, solely 41 p.c of retailers and different corporations reported a rise in year-over-year revenues from 2020, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce ballot of 185 of its members discovered.
In the meantime, 72 p.c of companies reported gross sales decrease than pre-pandemic 2019 ranges, the survey mentioned.
As well as, 68 p.c of retailers reported losses of consumers in comparison with 2019, and 41 p.c of respondents mentioned they’re grappling with labor shortages, whereas 26 p.c reported having fewer workers than two years in the past.
“What our finish of the 12 months survey definitively exhibits is that enterprise homeowners are constantly dealing with ongoing challenges roadblocking the really strong restoration New York Metropolis deserves and is able to reaching,” mentioned Randy Friends, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
A majority — 56 p.c of respondents — mentioned they didn't meet their post-COVID-19 restoration objectives. About 25 p.c of companies mentioned they had been unable to function or needed to shut for intervals of time on account of shortages final 12 months.
Difficulties paying hire endured for 33 p.c of companies in 2021, and a few of them are actually in jeopardy of closing for the reason that state lifted its 20-month pandemic-inspired eviction moratorium, in response to the chamber.
In the course of the peak of the pandemic in 2020, many retailers had been pressured to close all the way down to curb the unfold of the virus and practically a 3rd by no means reopened.
Final 12 months, 40 p.c of corporations lowered their hours of operation, two-thirds mentioned they carried out a tech overhaul of their enterprise mannequin, together with changing to extra on-line/e-commerce, whereas 26 p.c mentioned they modified their product combine.
The COVID-19 outbreak pressured different homeowners to delay opening new bars and eateries.
Remedy Wine Bar 2.0 in Brooklyn opened in November — a 12 months later than deliberate — due to the pandemic, mentioned proprietor Angela Terry.
“It was undoubtedly a problem to get within the mindset and say, `We’re going to make this occur,'” Terry mentioned on Tuesday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul just lately visited her wine bar and restaurant to pitch her plan to make everlasting alcohol-sales-to-go at bars and eating places.
The struggles reported by Brooklyn retailers are a microcosm of the challenges dealing with New York’s financial system as a complete, as the town and state try to emerge from the pandemic.
New nationwide employment statistics present that New York is experiencing the slowest restoration of the mainland states — with jobs nonetheless down 5.8 p.c within the personal sector from pre-pandemic ranges. Solely tourism–heavy Hawaii was worse, minus 10.9 p.c.
New York in January had recovered practically 75 p.c of the post-pandemic jobs decline, whereas employment within the U.S. as a complete exceeded 90 p.c of the February 2020 degree, in response to U.S. Labor Division statistics.
“At January’s development charge, nevertheless, New York nonetheless gained’t totally get well till the top of 2023, whereas the nation is on monitor to hit the pre-pandemic degree inside this 12 months,” EJ McMahon of the Empire Heart for Public Coverage mentioned in his evaluation of the figures.
“All of New York’s different neighboring states had been a lot additional alongside on the street to restoration — with New Jersey within the strongest place, down simply 2.2 p.c from the pre-pandemic degree.”
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