‘Die-Hard Customers Look in Their Closets For Stuff to Fix’: Minas Shoe Repair During COVID
Minas Shoe Repair (63 Wall Street) closed three months ago in response to the pandemic, and customers have since seemed to miss cobbler Asimenia...
‘I Could Pull Through 9/11,’ Says Longtime Restaurateur, ‘I Do Not Want to Close Now’
The last few months have not been business as usual for Manveen Singh, owner of Tandoor Palace at 88 Fulton Street. “We have about 10 to 15% as...
As the City Reopens, New Yorkers Like Al Wright Are Starting to Process the COVID Era
“This thing had me scared, I'm not gonna lie to you,” Al Wright, a maintenance technician for Battery Park City Authority’s Parks Operation...
‘We’re Here—Night, Day, Rain, Sleet, Snow, Heat, Pandemic’
During the last few months, more and more stories of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted New Yorkers have been told and retold. They form a shared...
Dispatch From a Downtown Mail Carrier: ‘Send to Your Loved Ones’
The post-pandemic world could be one without the U.S. Postal Service, whose political and financial struggles have been well-documented. The USPS is...
How a Small-Business Owner Draws Strength and Hope From History
Matt Khatamov is co-owner of FiDi Cleaners at 89 Washington Street. Like other small-business owners he is grappling with the COVID-19 crisis, but...
Generosity and Tolerance: This Restaurateur Delivers (Even When It’s Not Returned)
When the Downtown Alliance chatted with Kanruthai Makmuang on May 18, she’d been working 25 days straight. Makmuang is co-owner of the Thai kitchen...
‘We’re in Business, That’s the Success Story’: Jeremy’s Ale House Reopens
Lee Holin grew up in a family of New York restaurateurs. His father started his namesake Jeremy’s Ale House (228 Front Street), a friendly...
‘We Cut One Key a Day,’ a Downtown Locksmith Says, ‘But There’s Hope. We’ll Be Back.’
“I felt like a movie star,” Harry Santiago joked about his recent photo shoot for the Downtown Alliance’s portrait series. Granted,...
The Diner That’s Seen It All: George’s During COVID
Billy Koulmentas grew up in the family business. He still remembers at 12 years old delivering burgers from his dad’s diner George’s (currently...
