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Week In Sound: Isaias Blows Through the Tri-State
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Millions of residents in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut remain without power days after Tropical Storm Isaias rifled through the Tri-State Area on Tuesday.
Neil A. Carousso produced the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 for the week ending Friday, August 7, 2020. Hear it on the media player above.
You can listen to The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM ET for a deeper dive into the top local, national and international stories of the week, featuring interviews with newsmakers and the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880.
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Brooklyn Daycare Struggles To Survive While Adjusting To COVID Era
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Education is the life’s work of a mother and daughter who provide learning resources for young children in their Brooklyn community, but the coronavirus pandemic is threatening their daycare.
Mildred Lovell immigrated to East Flatbush from Haiti as a baby where she was raised, stared her journey as a special education teacher for more than 20 years, and opened Garden of Knowledge Day Care Center at 1657 Nostrand Avenue in February 2007 with her daughter Dheydra.
“It brings tears to my eyes that I may not be able to reopen in September,” Mildred Lovell told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank.
Schools and daycares are in the forefront as local governments prepare to announce reopening plans for the fall while parents and teachers express trepidation about returning to the classroom as COVID-19 threatens the most vulnerable. Mildred and Dheydra have spent the last four months listening to parents’ health and safety concerns while introducing a distance learning program.
“During the summer time we work on sports with the children, so we continued our curriculum and we sent out equipment for sports, so they can work with their children,” Dheydra Lovell said. “It’s been successful for the most part.”
But, that success is relative to the pandemic. Online learning is not scalable for the Garden of Knowledge Day Care Center at this point unless they start seeing new enrollment if schools do not reopen this fall or enough parents hold out.
“I’m just keeping my faith and continue to pray so that doors can be open and children can be served in a safe manner,” said Mildred.
They do Zoom video calls on Fridays to check in on students’ progress and work with parents to ensure children are receiving a stimulating learning experience – all things considered.
In the meantime, Dheydra, who also provides one-on-one tutoring for autistic children, spends her days reimagining the daycare from a new socially distanced layout to stocking up on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“Planning out our budget, planning out what we will need to do to see if we can reopen in September and still accommodate the CDC guidelines and requirements as well as provide a very safe and productive environment for our children along with our staff,” Dheydra said of their challenges ahead.
The Garden of Knowledge Day Care Center is bleeding cash and facing an uphill financial battle as safety expenses increase and others remain constant.
“We haven’t recovered from the loss,” Dheydra told Joe and Neil about the financial impact of its forced shutdown in March, continuing, “It’s a question of recovering, sustaining, currently, and also, preparing for the next few months because we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The East Flatbush daycare’s owners told WCBS 880 parents are expressing safety is priority, but as they look to return to the workplace, they will need child care services. It is a complex predicament for many families, underscoring the vitality of education for the economy.
“These are all things that we think about to really determine us opening up in September, said Dheydra Lovell.
Hear more about the uncertain future of education on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or the media player above.
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Month In Sound: July 2020
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — July 2020 was a month that saw COVID-19 cases surge outside of the Tri-State Area with clusters caused by large gatherings, nationwide protests for civil justice turned violent, and the nation mourns civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis.
Neil A. Carousso produced the Month In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880. Hear it on the media player above.
You can listen to The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM ET for a deeper dive into the top local, national and international stories of the week, featuring interviews with newsmakers and the Week In Sound or Month In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880.
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Week In Sound: COVID-19 Rages Nationally Despite Vaccine Progress
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Florida is the new COVID-19 hotspot with the highest death rate and California surpasses New York for the most coronavirus cases as the Tri-State Area makes progress on reopening.
Neil A. Carousso produced the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 for the week ending July 24, 2020 that included a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide, progress on a Pfizer vaccine, protests over racial justice face off against federal agents in Portland, Oregon, the Occupy City Hall encampment was shut down, New Jersey Federal Judge Esther Salas’ son was killed, and baseball returns. Hear it on the media player above.
You can listen to The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM ET for a deeper dive into the top local, national and international stories of the week, featuring interviews with newsmakers and the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880.
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Businesses Near Mets, Yankee Stadiums Take A Hit As Baseball Returns Without Fans
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The boys of summer are back in town, but establishments near Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are fighting an uphill battle in a comeback dampened by a baseball season without fans in attendance.
“So far, since the pandemic, my sales are down $300,000,” said Joe Bastone whose family has owned Yankee Tavern for 93 years.
On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso examine how the local economy is impacted by empty stadiums as Major League Baseball begins its 2020 season Thursday night with the Yankees in Washington, D.C. The Mets host the Atlanta Braves on Friday in their season opener that can be heard on WCBS 880 at 4:10 PM.
Bastone says 50 percent of his revenue is earned during Yankees home games. Patronizing his bar and restaurant is a game day routine for fans who travel from the region and throughout the country. Yanks legend Babe Ruth was known for buying a round of beer there for fans to celebrate a Bombers victory.
“It’s really devastating,” he lamented.
Yankee Tavern is only making 10 percent of what it typically earns on 161st Street. Bastone added televisions to an extended outdoor dining space with indoor dinning prohibited under state law indefinitely. He hopes people will enjoy a ballgame from his establishment beyond the right field gate.
“I just got a rent bill, which included $85,000 in real estate taxes,” he said, continuing, “I just don’t understand why we’re paying real estate taxes when the municipalities, the State and the City tell us we’re not allowed to operate.”
Bastone told Connolly and Carousso that “half” of businesses in the 161 Street Business Improvement District, which represents many of the merchandise shops and sports bars outside The Stadium, will not survive the pandemic-related shutdowns and the 2020 MLB season absent fans.
Irene DeBenedittis, third generation owner of Leo’s Latticini in Corona, Queens, is looking at the glass half full despite a grim outlook for what is typically their busy season with both the Mets in town and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships that draws millions of people from around the world every summer.
“I had the plexiglass set up for outside and we’re just doing takeout and home orders,” she said. “For now, I think it’s going well like that.”
Her grandparents started the family deli in the 1930s. Irene grew up making fresh mozzarella with her two sisters Carmela and Marie. Their mother Nancy took over the business and was beloved by her customers. But, the millions of Mets fans who came for lunch before an afternoon game at Shea Stadium and the City workers who stopped in on their lunch hour for a homemade hero did not know her as Nancy; they knew her as “Mama” – the endearing nickname that lives on since she passed away in 2009, as the deli is colloquially referred to the name of their Citi Field concession designation “Mama’s of Corona.”
“I’m proud of what we were taught – our ethics, the background,” DiBenedittis said.
It’s that positive outlook on life that is getting her through this crisis.
“You have to appreciate what you have and work for it,” she said.
Irene told Joe and Neil that she is operating her Queens deli out of love – the same unconditional love her grandparents instilled in Mama who raised three daughters in a community that saw them as family.
She said in these unprecedented circumstances, she encourages her workers to treat their customers “like yourself or your family.”
It’s #OpeningDay for the @Mets! Sports sidelined to #COVID19 has had a considerable impact on the economy.
Listen to @JoeConnollybiz & my @WCBS880 podcast as we talk to the owners of 90+ year old businesses Leo’s Latticini/#MamasofCorona & @YankeeTavern: https://t.co/MnZI2bDMO1 pic.twitter.com/r4FgahqcWd
— Neil A. Carousso (@NeilACarousso) July 24, 2020
DiBenedittis says Leo’s Latticini is earning a much smaller profit amid the coronavirus pandemic between the deli and the bakery next door. The concession at Citi Field, where they sell their specialty sandwiches and Italian desserts, will remain closed this season.
“We’re doing the best we can,” she said.
Hear what a baseball season without fans means for the local economy plus stories about legendary players going out to eat on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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