Neil A. Carousso produces and co-hosts WCBS Newsradio 880’s Small Business Spotlight series with Joe Connolly. Click here to watch the weekly video segments featuring advice for business owners on survival, recovery and growth opportunities.

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  • Week In Sound: Biden-Harris Ticket Punched, a Week Plus in the Dark and Slowdown Schools

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    NEW YORK, NY (WCBS 880) — Presumptive Democratic Nominee Joe Biden (D-DE) chose Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate this week, some school districts vote to begin online only and tens of thousands suffered more than a week without power.

    Neil A. Carousso produced the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 for the week ending Friday, August 14, 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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  • Week In Sound: Isaias Blows Through the Tri-State

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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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