A bartender who spent his last $12 in his account on rice, eggs, and bread. A laid off personal trainer trying to apply for unemployment benefits on a crashing website. A restaurant employee who is looking for delivery work since, as an undocumented immigrant, he cannot apply for unemployment benefits. An out-of-work server who’s hoping for a rent suspension.
They’re some of the thousands of workers—one economist has estimated 500,000 could lose jobs in New York City—who are out of work as restaurants and bars move to takeout only, resulting in closures for some, and gyms, theaters, and other venues shutter to mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected over 30,000 people in New York State.
“I was already living paycheck to paycheck, and the fact that I don’t have any more income is insane for me,” said Charles Almanza, 27, a bartender and DJ at Bushwick’s Starr Bar until earlier this month. “I’ve just been kind of racking my brain trying to figure out how to do this.”
“I can't for my life figure out why they would just shut down an entire sector of the economy and not have anything waiting to help us out,” said Almanza, who says he spent his last $12 in his account on a bag of rice, bread, and eggs this week. He also shut off his phone plan, relying on WiFi to use it. “I literally don’t know how I’m going to be able to survive.”
29-year-old Paul Morse, a personal trainer, turned to unemployment benefits after getting laid off from Midtown New York Sports Club, but faced difficulties even getting the website to function.
“The website keeps crashing, so I’ve tried like four times, and I literally was just on the last step and it crashed again, and I was so mad,” Morse said.
40-year-old restaurant manager Emmanuel, who preferred to use his first name only, said he's not anticipating any government support. As an undocumented immigrant, he worries seeking any governmental benefits would hinder his ability to obtain residency in the future due to a Trump administration rule that penalizes those seeking visas for using government benefits. He said he doesn't qualify for unemployment.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen now,” he said. “My main concern is that I might not be able to get a job.”
He and his brother both lost their jobs. Now Emmanuel is looking into doing delivery work via car, if he could afford to buy one, but more likely, by bike. If he can't find another source for money, he's considering returning to Mexico with family after living in New York for 16 years.
“You are facing a situation [and] a crisis in a city that you love so much but you also understand that you won't be able to be successful or at least have a life where you can be comfortable, to be fine,” he said.
In the last two weeks, about three in 10 New Yorkers have reported someone in their home has lost their job, according to a survey released by CUNY's Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy on Monday. For Latinx and Hispanic communities, that number is about four in 10.
“This is not just a health issue. This coronavirus needs all hands on deck,” said Scott Ratzan, who is leading the university’s weekly survey. The findings on job losses “just really jumped out.”
Those with lower incomes reported higher job loss, according to the CUNY survey. 34 percent of households making less than $50,000 reported losing a job, 28 percent among income levels of $50,000 to $100,000, and 16 percent for those making more than $100,000.
“I don't think there's any planning. There's just hoping,” said Rosanie Mendez, a 38-year-old actress and server laid off from Caracas Arepa Bar. “There's so much uncertainty you can't plan anything.”
Mendez, who has already left New York, had just booked a long term voiceover gig, but up until now, was working shifts between auditions and has no savings.
“I was this close to not feeling like I was just this close to getting kicked out of my apartment each month,” she said. “If I can pay it, I can pay it. I'm hoping they suspend rent.”
A rent relief bill was recently introduced on the state-level, but there is no word on whether Governor Andrew Cuomo would support it. Cuomo has offered a reprieve to some homeowners during the crisis, though even that does not include multifamily landlords, according to The Real Deal. Some elected officials are proposing renters be able to use security deposits for April’s rent. Congressmember Grace Meng plans to introduce federal legislation to suspend rent and mortgage payments for up to six months after the pandemic. New York expanded paid sick leave for workers, but that doesn't help gig workers or anyone laid off.
“I don't see how a society can support itself if 75 percent of the people are out of work,” said Damani Varnado, 40, a bartender at Tiny's & the Bar Upstairs in Tribeca. Varnado noted unemployment benefits are difficult to secure for some service industry workers, many who work part-time with other gigs on the side. “Our jobs are on pause. They'll definitely hire us back—but they're using that word 'unforeseeable future.'"
"This is not something that any of us are really built to weather," said Chris Kim, the owner of Monks Vegan Smokehouse, which is currently operating out of Starr Bar for delivery-only, where Almanza was a bartender. Mayor Bill de Blasio has previously announced no-interest loans and a grant program—but Kim said workers and business owners will need something more substantial.
“We need rent relief. We need debt relief. We’re going to need help to rebuild,” said Kim, whose kitchen staff is able to keep making at least 60 percent of typical business. “In the first week, everything was shut down—[it] was gruesome. It was really tough. This week, we’ve sort of bounced back a little bit.”
Wholesalers and farmers he purchases food from have nowhere to sell food to as the restaurants they typically sell to have mostly shuttered, he added. "All of our wholesalers are feeling pinched right now."
Lexie Braverman, 31, a laid off server from a Korean restaurant in Gowanus, may have to move back in with her parents if she's unable to find work by summer.
"Right now, financially, I'm okay for a little bit," said Braverman. "Hopefully this won't go throughout the full summer. That would be a nightmare."
Harlem resident Portia Green was laid off from a bartending gig at a catering company in recent weeks.
"For a month, for maybe even two, we could handle that and be okay," said Green, a 33-year-old mother of two whose fiance has already been unemployed. "But time is ticking."
