Author: JOSE NIEVES

By Noel Stevens | Jan. 26, 2021

Like many New York restaurants, Awkward Scone in Bushwick was struggling during the pandemic. But instead of simply shutting its doors, owner Eric See moved to another neighborhood. See opened Ursula, a takeout-centric café and bakery, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in September.

Named after See’s grandmother, Ursula features a smaller footprint than his prior space and no indoor dining. He conceptualized and opened the café within a matter of weeks. “My gas didn’t get turned on until like two days before we opened,” See recalled. The place embraces his New Mexican roots, offering breakfast burritos, blue corn scones, and vegan chiles rellenos.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ursula (@ursula_brooklyn)

According to a report issued by the New York State Comptroller, about one-third to one-half of New York City restaurants are expected to close permanently because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also mentioned that job loss could be offset by the opening of new restaurants, like See’s Ursula.

See was motivated to open a new place for several reasons, but mostly because he wanted to continue being his own boss. “I don’t know what else I would do,” he said. “I didn’t really care to work for somebody else in the middle of a pandemic.”

Despite being understaffed at the beginning, Ursula has attracted some press coverage and a significant number of customers. “There’s just this understanding of how to get your food to-go,” said Grant Rossi, a barista at Ursula.

The format also seems inherently friendly to COVID regulations. Rossi recalled dealing with only one customer who did not follow mask guidelines. He attributes this single incident to both the restaurant’s concept and the type of crowd See attracts.

Having a new restaurant in the neighborhood is a welcome sign for some residents. “It feels more exciting to go into places like this because I don’t think of what the place used to be like,” Aster Ryan, a customer at Ursula, said.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, only two new restaurants have opened in Crown Heights: Ursula and a Burmese eatery named Rangoon. In other neighborhoods, coffee places and restaurants are adjusting in different ways. 

Stephanie Peschiera, an advisor at Baruch College’s Small Business Development Center, believes a restaurant’s model makes all the difference right now, but also points to the importance of location. She has observed that the increase in employees working from home has been a boon to restaurants in more residential areas.  

“It’s really looking like neighborhoods that are primarily commuter destinations like Midtown and Flatiron are going to continue to struggle, whereas in Brooklyn there’s a lot of residents,” Peschiera said.

Ciao Bella Coffee in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, owned by spouses Marco Mento and Jessica Michel, was initially forced to close because of the pandemic, only two weeks after its grand opening. The 32-year-old former professional musician from Switzerland was inspired by his Italian family and his experience as a barista to open the coffee shop. Michel,  a 29-year-old Brooklyn native, kept her day job in human resources and helps him when she can. 

“When we opened, we did a party here the first day, a lot of people were here,” said Mento.

The direness of the city’s coronavirus outbreak became much more apparent. The shop is located a few blocks from Kings County Hospital, with many of the shop’s customers working there.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ciao Bella Coffee (@ciaobellacoffee)

Following the executive order that halted New York’s indoor dining in mid-March, Ciao Bella remained closed for a little under two months. It has since reopened as Mento and Michel continues to navigate coronavirus restrictions. The couple has been keeping customers updated on their evolving policies through Instagram while slowly increasing capacity and adding back live music performances outside.

The couple was able to stay in business, but Michel is not planning on quitting her other full-time job any time soon. Both owners acknowledged how volatile their business can be, especially during a pandemic.

The outlook for eateries may be bleak across the city, but many are finding ways to survive or even thrive in the age of the coronavirus. Peschiera, from Baruch College, says she has faith faith in the resiliency of restaurant owners.

“They deal with putting out multiple fires at a time under normal circumstances; if anybody is equipped to deal with the challenges of COVID, it’s restaurant owners,” she said.

By Lylia Saurel | Feb. 8, 2021

When Joe Biden was announced winner of the presidential race in November and thousands of New Yorkers filled the streets to celebrate, 19-year-old Josiah Ramesar didn’t—even though he voted for Biden.

“I wasn’t excited. I wasn’t mad. I just felt like, ‘Okay, now let’s see what he does,’” he said.

Turnout among young voters ages 18 through 29 was ten percent higher than it was for the last presidential election, going from 42 percent in 2016 to 52 percent in 2020. And while Biden won the youth vote by a 25 percent margin, for many young voters fed up with the Trump administration, the battle is just beginning. And in progressive places like New York, Biden has a lot of work to do to convince a generation that has mobilized around social justice issues and ground-up politics that he can be the transformational president they want.

“If he doesn’t do anything in his first four years, we’ll get him out right away,” said Ramesar.

What many young Democrats expect from the new president is unity, but they also want him to take action on issues like climate change, racial justice, and supporting working-class families. The increase in young voter turnout has also been driven in part by their growing engagement with  local politics.

Roland Sosa, a 20-year-old Manhattan resident and  New York University student, feels that his voice is not being heard on the federal level and that the electoral system fails to represent voters like him.

“In terms of who will become president, my vote doesn’t make a difference,” said Sosa. “But there are still people like the city council, state senate, assembly and congress members for which I want to cast my vote, to make sure that the representatives actually reflect what I want.”

Marcus Johnson, 30, an assistant professor at Baruch College in the political science department, says he saw an increase in local engagement around racial justice among his students.

“This semester students wanted to talk about what was going on in the US. It felt like every week there was something we could tie to the news cycle,” he said.

Motivated by the national response to the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, CUNY students mobilized to bring issues to the attention of the city council and lobbied to provide more funds to Black mental health research at Baruch.

“There seemed to be a recognition that as much as we pay attention to presidential politics,  political engagement also has to happen at a local level,” said Johnson.

And while some plan to show engagement with grassroots organizing, others prefer to use online platforms. Social media played a decisive role among young adults prior to the elections in disseminating information and connecting demonstrators and advocates.

For Professor Johnson, social media is a way for young people to keep participating in political life through smaller actions such as signing petitions and sharing content. “These are forms of political engagement that matter in the long run,” he said.

Various youth-led political organizations have also helped foster the engagement of young voters such as the climate-focused Sunrise Movement, which supports a Green New Deal.

Access to politics is important, said John Paul Mejia, a Sunrise Movement spokesperson. “We are ramping up leadership programs for them to step in the realm of politics,” he said.

One of its programs, the Sunrise School, was created prior to the 2020 presidential elections and taught volunteers how to organize and remain politically active.

Mejia is determined to keep the momentum going during the lull between election cycles when it’s easy for people to become complacent. “We’ve got new hubs starting around the country as a result of Sunrise School,” said Mejia. “We definitely feel a promising forecast.”

Noam Gal, president of the Baruch College Democrats, feels that CUNY students should aim to demand more from the new administration. He believes this generation of young college students will be highly affected by political and social transformation.

“We have seen chaos in the streets of our capitol. We watched thousands of our fellow New Yorkers die in overflowing hospitals. CUNY students like myself are disproportionately suffering from financial insecurities in a New York where people are struggling,” he said.

Gal believes that Biden is at an advantage with Democratic majorities in Congress, but must step up to the demands of the young people, who have been wanting more for years.

“The Democratic party has had the unique opportunity to shape America into a place where students don’t need to choose between rent payments and school supplies,” he said.

“Young Americans are looking towards the White House with hope, but Biden must fulfill our hopes with real change, else that hope might turn to anger.”