Village-Area Businesses That Are Still Open And How To Help

DOWNTOWN, MANHATTAN — The coronavirus pandemic might have shut down the city's restaurants and bars, along with a large swath of its retail stores, but neighborhood groups want small businesses to know New Yorkers won't just leave them behind.

Local business improvement districts have started compiling lists of what neighborhood businesses are still up and running and what restaurants are offering takeout, delivery or special discounts after a mandated closure to dine-in customers.

The lists, along with information for business owners about potential city-led assistance, are meant to help the small businesses know local support for them won't just disappear, said Suzy Changar, vice president of marketing and communication for the Hudson Square BID.

"They need to know people care about them," Changar told Patch. "And, not just people that need services, but that as a business community we care about them. We know small businesses are at the core of what makes New York City and every neighborhood unique."

The lists come as the improvement districts tackle the difficult task of figuring out how best to help their neighborhood's businesses as coronavirus measures threaten to tank the restaurant industry and New York City's economy.

All bars, restaurants, casinos, movie theaters and gyms were ordered to close up shop by 8 p.m. Monday, aside from takeout, until the Gov. Andrew Cuomo deems them safe to reopen. Some retail stores have similarly closed to prevent the spread of the virus.

But for the businesses that are still open, surviving means promoting their stores, takeout options or for some, shifting focus. Changar said one eatery, Deb's Takeaway, has started offering meal kits instead of their usual menu, for instance.

The best thing for customers to do is to support businesses to the extent possible, Changar said, think about buying gift cards to use later and, down the line, to remember to return to businesses when things calm down.

"We don't know when this is going to end — we don't know what it's going to look like," Changar said. "The role of the BID is to see how we can reconnect our community when we get to the other side."

Here's where to find what businesses are still open in your neighborhood:

• Hudson Square List of Open Businesses
• Flatiron District Pick Up and Delivery Guide
• Union Square Takeout and Delivery Guide
• NoHo List of Business Closed
• Greenwich Village and Chelsea Chamber Of Commerce Resources