With no end in sight to restrictions brought in due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, small business owners in New York demanded a change else they will be forced to close for good.
Re-Open NY, a coalition of hundreds of small businesses, held a press conference on Wednesday in a park that overlooks the Statue of Liberty in Lower Manhattan. Re-Open NY say that the conference was their last “desperate cry” to save their businesses.
“The whole idea of this press conference was just to show that we are pleading and that we cannot hold on any longer. Stores are dying every day. Just yesterday I heard that three small businesses within my own community are closed. That’s three families,” Simcha Minkowitz said, the founder of Re-Open NY.
On March 22., Cuomo signed <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-issues-guidance-essential-services-under-new-york-state-pause-executive-order">New York Pause</a>, an executive order which mandated that all businesses deemed to be non-essential must shut their doors. It did not specify how long the order would be in effect.
Shortly after the restrictions rolled in, <a href="https://www.crainsnewyork.com/coronavirus/local-small-businesses-face-unprecedented-crisis">Crain’s</a> predicted that New York’s small businesses, who have been suffering for years <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/458343-mayor-de-blasio-the-small-business-killer">under heavy regulations</a>, faced an impending and “unprecedented crisis.”
New York has offered some public assistance, but Re-Open NY says they don’t want handouts, they want to work. Over two and a half months after closing, businesses owners cannot put food on the table for their families.
“People’s livelihoods are crumbling,” said Minkowitz.
Minkowitz recently put her heart and soul into opening a new store called Amore Fine Jewelry.
Now, her business is in the red.
“It’s very important that people know that you’re right, jewelry is not essential, but it is essential to me because this is what feeds our family,” she said.
Minkowitz founded Re-Open NY after a middle-aged man called her husband crying that his checks were bouncing and that he couldn’t pay his bills. After losing sleep over this story, as well as countless others she had heard, Minkowitz decided that something had to change.
“So I made a video,” she said. “The video went viral.”
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A frustrated Brooklyn business owner asks why she and her husband can’t be trusted like the big box stores can. Let’s remember how this this is impacting entrepreneurs who want to feed their families. <a href="https://t.co/JRNLQvZmT1">pic.twitter.com/JRNLQvZmT1</a>
&mdash; Tova Herskovitz (@tovaherskovitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tovaherskovitz/status/1261121646414442496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Next thing she knew, 200 small businesses signed on to her group immediately.
“You’ll see stores closing all the time, every day I hear about more and more stores that are just calling it quits,” said Bruce Backman, the press person for Re-Open NY.
With an understanding of this dire public health crisis, Re-Open NY says that it can serve its patrons and open their stores safely by introducing reasonable measures to protect public health, such as wearing gloves, using sanitizing agents, and limiting the numbers of patrons and customers that they allow into their stores. They point out that small businesses are far more capable of limiting the foot traffic than big box stores such as Walmart, Target, and Costco.
“We have essentially created a society now where we&#8217;re pushing everybody to go to like three stores — and those stores have many more people in them, they’re much more dangerous insofar as spread would be concerned,&#8221; Backman said. &#8220;I’ve been to those stores — they’re packed with people. Smaller stores are much more able to limit the capacity of clients.&#8221;
Business owners in New York are holding out hope that things will change the next day, Backman said.
At first, the businesses were compliant and understood the need to lower the apex, which was expected to hit New York around mid-April. But as May rolled around and no changes were made, the Coalition realized it needed to take a stand. They demand that by the end of May all businesses must be allowed to open.
“Everybody locked down, I didn’t complain for a second to close my business. I didn’t complain and I didn’t yell at anybody. I was disappointed, I was sad, I was depressed, but I didn’t blame anyone. I understood what it was that I had to do,&#8221; said Backman.
&#8220;But at some point… We have to go back to our lives. We cannot do this indefinitely. We cannot live like this,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’s not fair, it&#8217;s not right, it&#8217;s not American, it’s not constitutional.&#8221;
New Yorkers such as Peter Raven, a Manhattan clothing shop owner, <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/nyc-peter-elliot-reopens-coronavirus-employees-business">actively defied</a> mandatory closure orders over the past few weeks. According to <a href="https://abc7ny.com/reopen-new-york-small-business-nyc-retail/6199483/">ABC News</a>, the police have been sent to his store on Lexington Avenue five times and he has never been issued a summons.
When Raven explained his reasoning he said, “We are not a country of sheep, but we have been treated like sheep.”
With <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data.page">16,153 deaths</a>, New York City has been <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-why-is-new-york-the-epicenter-20200417-76446skdgzgolh7vodm7ervg2e-story.html">the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak</a> in the United States.
Governor Cuomo’s press office did not immediately respond for comment regarding the ending of restrictions on “non-essential” businesses.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

The Fruit Market cultural quarter, Hull

New York’s Small Businesses Issue Last ‘Desperate Cry’ To Save Their Livelihoods

Andrew Cuomo

Coronavirus

Economy

New York

New York City

Andy Ngo is a journalist based in Portland, Oregon who covers Antifa. He was infamously bruised and bloodied by the communist group in June of 2019, causing Ngo to suffer a cerebral hemorrhage, the effects of which continue to affect him until the present time. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
<iframe title="Conservative writer Andy Ngo roughed up at Portland antifa/right wing protests" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8WzMZxT-41k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Q: Why did you start collecting Antifa’s arrest records?
Ngo: It is an important information book for the public. Part of what makes Antifa a dangerous movement is that they rely on anonymity. And because the movement is anonymous the only information we have are through the arrest records and mugshots. Through that, I&#8217;ve been able to piece together a clearer picture of the demographics of who is involved.
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Luis Enrique Marquez, 47, has been arrested &amp; charged numerous times at antifa riots in the Portland-area. As one of the most active members of Rose City Antifa, Marquez has been recorded violently confronting people. More details &amp; pics: <a href="https://t.co/OKxJL4wbGT">https://t.co/OKxJL4wbGT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AntifaMugshots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AntifaMugshots</a> <a href="https://t.co/CeTMrFbinO">pic.twitter.com/CeTMrFbinO</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1215237932333686785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Q: What kind of people are involved in Antifa?
Ngo: Antifa spans several classes of people. There are ideologues who are straight from the Ivory Tower, university students, and those who are vulnerable in dealing with instability and mental health issues related to homelessness and gender dysphoria. Antifa groups will welcome these people in, embrace them with a shared ideology and radicalize them. If they happen to get arrested or charged or convicted, these people are kind of easily disposed of, in a way?
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Alexander G. Dial, aka &quot;BETA CUCK 4 LYFE,&quot; was filmed in Aug. at a Portland riot beating people w/weapons. He was indicted for felony riot, felony assault, unlawful use of a stun gun or tear gas &amp; fourth-degree assault. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AntifaMugshots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AntifaMugshots</a> More details &amp; pics: <a href="https://t.co/Rb27ObSqqY">https://t.co/Rb27ObSqqY</a> <a href="https://t.co/0Wf4RpZhEl">pic.twitter.com/0Wf4RpZhEl</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1214792391346946048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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As much as I have been vocally critical against this movement, I do have sympathy insofar as they are people who have the potential to do a lot with their lives, but instead have been pulled into a movement that will use and discard them.
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Nicholas James Armstrong/Nikki Jameson is a Seattle-area transsexual antifa militant who was arrested yesterday &amp; charged with reckless endangerment. She also has a criminal record in Idaho, where this booking photo is from. More details: <a href="https://t.co/7M1JJSZY2m">https://t.co/7M1JJSZY2m</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AntifaMugshots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AntifaMugshots</a> <a href="https://t.co/vGS4bFPELe">pic.twitter.com/vGS4bFPELe</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1214157958633811968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Q: Are you concerned for your safety, releasing the mugshots and arrest records?
Ngo: Yes. They have the address of my family, where my mother works, and they&#8217;re escalating [threats against me]. About six of them showed up at my home on Halloween and were pounding on the windows and doors. So I am concerned for my safety. Due to the threats, I&#8217;m not really able to stay in Portland much longer.
Q: Are there times that you think about moving on to another beat because of the danger?
Ngo: I think about that all the time. But if I don&#8217;t do it, there isn’t really anybody else.
Q: How does your family respond to your work?
Ngo: They&#8217;re concerned. They ask me why I work on something so potentially dangerous to myself and those around me. I just try to explain to them just how important it is.
Q: Do you think mainstream media avoid investigating Antifa mainly because its journalists are afraid?
Ngo: I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s because they&#8217;re afraid; I think it&#8217;s because many mainstream journalists are sympathetic to Antifa. My view is that Antifa would not have been able to get by doing without the media covering for them. Antifa depends on the wider public viewing them as unsung heroes in order for them to do such brutal, medieval violent activities on citizens.
Q: Should Antifa be characterized as a terrorist group?
Ngo: I would describe their activities as terrorist activities. What makes them less deadly than jihadist groups is that they lack the funding streams to acquire weapons. But I think if they did have that, they would engage in that violence.
Q: Have you ever tried to speak with the members?
Ngo: Yes. I tried to let them know that they were misinformed about me. I did this every time up until my beating.
Q: What was it like, speaking to them?
Ngo: The point of wearing the black block is to make it so that these militants are no longer individuals — you’re part of a mass. So when I spoke to them, it wasn&#8217;t like I was speaking to an individual. It was like speaking to people who only had ideology.
Q: What kind of emotions did you see there under the surface?
Ngo: Anger and hatred. The times I have seen them attack people — they&#8217;re animalistic, I would say. The part of the brain that is driving them in those moments &#8230; it&#8217;s the primal desire to maim, to injure, to kill.
Q: I just want to circle back to your political views. What has shaped your ideology?
Ngo: I used to be a social justice warrior back in my undergrad days. I used to be someone who embraced the victimhood worldview, which is the undercurrent of the Antifa ideology. So I have a drive to show how this worldview is part of the same continuum toward the violent extremism of Antifa and other far-left movements. It&#8217;s not out of a partisan hatred, but rather I can see where they are coming from since that used to be appealing to me.
Q:  What was appealing about the victimhood mentality?
Ngo: It was appealing to direct hatred and anger at others for my own failings because it meant I didn&#8217;t have to take responsibility. It&#8217;s much easier to blame a “system.”
Q: Was there a &#8220;Eureka&#8221; moment when you snapped out of that mentality?
Ngo: Yeah there was a moment where I had to finally come to terms with myself — that only I am responsible for my actions, my successes as well as my failures. I can blame everything and anything around me and while that may feel soothing, it doesn&#8217;t actually change the reality of my situation until I make different choices.
Q: Last but not least, how has your recovery been since the incident in June 2019?
Ngo: I&#8217;m doing a lot better, but I still struggle with cognitive stuff like memory. I have really intensive physical, occupational, and cognitive therapy to help me recover.

Andy Ngo

Rules For Fighting Antifa: An Interview With Andy Ngo

Antifa

The Binghamton Leftist Mob (BLOB?) is at it again.
This time, dozens of left-wing Binghamton University students shut down an event sponsored by Young America’s Foundation (YAF), where a famous economist who worked for the Reagan administration was scheduled to speak about gun violence.
Minutes after Dr. Arthur Laffer had begun his speech, dozens of angry students began protesting in the room. Protesters were armed with loud voices and, for good measure, a megaphone. Some among the group were wearing red bandanas and black masks.
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“We’re like the new Berkeley,” said Lacey Kestecher, president of the university&#8217;s Turning Point USA chapter, about Monday’s event that conservative clubs had been planning since July.
Kestecher left the room with the other students, fearing the protest would escalate into violence. “We didn’t know what was going to happen if we stayed in the room,” she said.
When security approached a protester ranting on the megaphone about how the Trump administration was killing people of color, the mob swarmed in to block the officer from escorting the ranter out of the room. Then, in Orwellian fashion, the screaming mob chanted “free speech” — implying that their free speech rights were the ones being blocked.
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Leftist protesters interrupt Dr. Laffer’s speaking event at Binghamton University, leading to his removal due to security concerns. Thank you for coming <a href="https://twitter.com/BetzArthur?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BetzArthur</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/prageru?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@prageru</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpStudents?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TrumpStudents</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TPUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TPUSA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BingRepublicans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BingRepublicans</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PragerFORCE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PragerFORCE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/yaf?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@yaf</a> <a href="https://t.co/z88QGySbBS">pic.twitter.com/z88QGySbBS</a>
&mdash; Kyle Nelson (@93Kylenelson) <a href="https://twitter.com/93Kylenelson/status/1196601178341224448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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“No peace no justice,” they yelled, followed by, “shut it down.”
Due to security concerns, Dr. Laffer was promptly removed from the room. Moreover, police arrested two of the protesters.
In response to the shutdown, <a href="https://www.yaf.org/news/video-crazed-leftists-shut-down-art-laffer-lecture-at-binghamton-u/">YAF </a>released a statement indicating that “legal remedies” were on the table. YAF  wrote, “Young America’s Foundation is actively exploring all legal remedies, including litigation, to do what Binghamton University failed to do — protect the First Amendment.”
It was just less than a week ago that the leftist mob had targeted conservative students for harassment and intimidation and the university refused to take disciplinary action.
As The Daily Wire’s Frank Camp previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shocking-video-conservative-students-harassed-and-intimidated-by-leftist-student-mob">reported</a>, about 200 leftist students at Binghamton University swarmed college Republicans while they were tabling last Thursday, destroying their display. In addition to vicious name-calling, including using expletive words referring to genitalia, the mob demanded that the students “pack up” and leave. When the conservative students from Turning Point USA and college Republican clubs refused, the protesters screamed in the personal spaces of the students. They proceeded to overturn their tables and throw around their merchandise. Campus police intervened to escort the conservative students to safety.
A day later, New York State Assemblyman Douglas M. Smith <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/NY-State-assemblyman-calls-to-protect-free-speech-at-Binghamton-University-608234">sent a letter </a>to President Harvey Strenger of Binghamton University requesting actions from the college to “ensure that … students are able to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights on campus without fear of physical violence in the future.”
By Monday — hours before the shutdown of the YAF event — the Binghamton administration said that it <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/apps/messaging/announcement/">would not</a> investigate the mob incident, nor would it discipline the students involved in the harassment against conservative students.
The administration&#8217;s statement said:
<blockquote>“On Thursday, Nov. 14, two groups tabling outside of the Union attracted counter-protesters. &#8230; The groups’ display included provocative posters. … There were also protesters who acted in a manner that may have violated University rules. In the context of the incident … the University did not seek to identify or charge any protesters. To do so would have escalated an already volatile situation and run counter to the primary interest in safely de-escalating the situation.”</blockquote>
The administration concluded inaction would “de-escalat[e]” the situation.
As the shutdown of Monday’s YAF event shows, Binghamton&#8217;s decision not to act may have only served to embolden the mob to continue harassing conservatives.
Ultimately, the mob incidences at Binghamton have created an environment of terror and fear among conservatives.
“I do not feel okay,” said Kestecher. “I did not ask for this. I’m just standing up for my rights. Which is have to do, what I should do.”

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Hannah Grossman

Articles by Hannah Grossman

New York’s Small Businesses Issue Last ‘Desperate Cry’ To Save Their Livelihoods

Rules For Fighting Antifa: An Interview With Andy Ngo

Binghamton Leftist Mob Returns With A Vengeance To Shut Down Conservative Event