The local paper for the Upper East Side COVID-19, HAMLET AND YOU
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PIVOT TO DIGITAL BUSINESS
Manhattan small businesses attempt to take their operations online Susanrachel “Birdie” Condon with client Anique Nicholson. Photo: Judith Levinrad Norman
MIDWIVES ON THE FRONT LINES FAMILY As homebirth requests spike, practitioners tell some moms they’d be better off at the hospital BY BECCA TUCKER
Like first responders across the board, midwives are in severe short supply. In addition to appealing to all health care workers to volunteer their services, Governor Cuomo is temporarily allowing any midwife licensed in North America to practice in New York regardless of whether they have a state license. Some New Jersey midwives – previously limited to junior midwife status in New York – are rolling up their sleeves. Others are saying, Hang on a sec. “You know, I was in midwifery to answer the call,” said Jessica Lawlor, one of the two first homebirth midwives licensed in New Jersey. “I would have considered it if I wasn’t doing a signifi-
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OurTownEastSide
OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC
BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
At the outset, March was expected to be a spectacular month of business for Let’s Dress Up! — which has been putting on princess tea parties and children’s birthday soirées on the Upper East Side for more than ten years. Twenty-one birthdays were already on the calendar, and day camps scheduled for the upcoming spring break were filling up. When the first few cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in New York City, Samantha Myers, a coowner of Let’s Dress Up!, did not panic. She said she took the precautions of a responsible business owner: sanitizing the toys, making hand sanitizer available to party guests and communicating with parents as things progressed. But then cancellations came pouring in for the latter half of the month, and into April and May. “What was looking like a record March is now over,” said Myers. Myers and her business partner, Judy Famigletti, have been put into a situation that might slightly differ from other small businesses in the city. They’re not retailers who can take online orders or restaurateurs who can continue to do takeout or delivery. Their business is stalled altogether without any kind
Crime Watch Voices City Arts
Owners Judy Famigletti (left) and Samantha Myers in front of their business on East 85th Street. Photo courtesy of Let’s Dress Up
of alternative revenue. “I can’t start charging people for an online class where they dress up at home and watch us on Zoom. I think there are better things out there that kids can do virtually, and, unfortunately, I just don’t think that we’re one of them,” said Myers. “If we can’t be open, and we have no idea when we’re going to be open, we’re making zero dollars.”
‘Virtual Teachers’ A business’s ability to transform itself into a virtual operation seems to be the best strategy in surviving the pandemic. Some are having an easier time than others. Jessica Stasi, who owns a
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15 Minutes Real Estate
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women-led STEM franchise called Snapology that operates in Manhattan as well as in Long Island City in Queens, has found some success in the transition to digital. Traditionally, her business has partnered with schools, rec centers, libraries and any other institution that offers supplemental education, an provides Lego-based STEM and robotic programming. Typically, her employees would come into a venue to conduct the course, which is very interactive. “We’ve had to transition all of our teachers into virtual teachers and so we’re using Zoom right now,” said Stasi. “And a lot of our schools that we partner with have moved over their agreements to virtual learning.” She said the quick transition has been challenging. Her team has been able to adapt some of the curriculum to be able to offer about 50 different STEM related classes using materials children often can find in their homes. But the group hasn’t been able to offer any of its robotics programming online. Snapology is trying to find alternative ways to engage its customers digitally, including offering virtual birthday parties and play dates. The company rolled out new STEM challenges for families to do together. So far, the response to the new format has been positive. “The teachers love it. And the kids love it too, because it creates it creates some sort of normalcy in
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WEEK OF APRIL
16-22 2020 INSIDE THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Closing a great city was simple, it turns out, compared to the task ahead of reopening it safely. p. 10
POLITICAL CLUBS IN THE CRAZED COVID DAYS Four Freedoms zooms in on the future p. 10
A RAY OF HOPE FOR NYPD
For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began in New York City, the NYPD had more of its members returning to work than calling out sick, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea reported Friday. p. 3
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, April 17 – 7:20 pm. For more information visit www.chabbaduppereastside.com.