NEW YORK—New York City’s lockdown is making life difficult for some business owners and employees. A clothing store owner in Queens says problems may worsen if they can’t reopen soon. Yet safety concerns remain as the city debates the best way to loosen restrictions.
Hussein “Jose” Ali owns a small clothing store in Jackson Heights, New York. He pays about $14,000 a month to rent his storefront. Right now, he’s not allowed to welcome customers into his store because the city is still locked down. He turned to the government for stimulus money, but had no luck.
“I apply for grant loan, but I was not able to get it, because they look for who has better credit, and they look for how’s the situation in the bank is going,” Ali, who owns Vibes Style and Design, told NTD.
He even tried getting a private loan to tide him over, but they also turned him down because he hasn’t been banking with them long enough.
With sheriffs patrolling the area, he doesn’t dare to reopen the inside of his store.
And yet he’s found a new way to help his employees and himself make ends meet—even if he only makes a third of what he used to. He now sells masks and hand sanitizer in front of his shop.
“I’m trying to work outside because I don’t want to get a problem with nobody. I’m trying to make a living. It doesn’t matter how much I could make a day as long as I have the food on my table,” Ali said.
He’s not worried about being evicted from his store if he does not pay rent during the lockdown because the state will not allow it. Yet once things get back to normal, he may have to come up with the unpaid rent in a court settlement with his landlord.
“I’m a good fighter. I like to work very hard, but if I can’t make it here it’s okay. If not, I have to go find some other solution—which is—we have no choice. We have no choice,” he said.
Since Ali is selling supplies deemed essential outside his store, he’s able to keep his employees working. Yet he says the lockdowns are still hurting a lot of people, who he says may resort to begging or stealing if they can’t get back to work.
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