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pandemic diary

Reflections on Art, Denial, Global Pandemics, and a Cross-Country Move

May 2, 2021 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Feature, Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Author Julia DePinto in Southern Califorrnia

Editor’s Note: 

When my editor asked me to write about my experiences living in Brooklyn, when the novel coronavirus first hit the city— and then my subsequent move to Southern California, just as the virus and the wildfires were beginning their assaults here— I obliged, without hesitation. I had moved to the Los Angeles area over the summer, right as NYC’s economy was reopening and mass protests against police violence were sweeping the country. California was great at first; the mountains and ocean provided a likely source of comfort, and COVID-19 cases were on the decline. But then the fires happened, and then the infection rate skyrocketed, and suddenly we were back to a partial shutdown with more forced isolation. It felt all too familiar to life in NYC last spring.

Writing about the events of the past year has been a catharsis for me. I look back at the photos of empty park benches and deserted streets with a deep appreciation for the beauty of the city and the resilience of New Yorkers. Those were difficult months and some facets, like the makeshift trailer cemetery in Sunset Park, will haunt me for a long time. But like my friend Jen said, after the wildfires finally quelled, “Nature has an incredible way of healing and rebounding.” I think the same is true of people. 

It was Monday, March 9, 2020, and I was sitting in the basement of the printshop scrolling through emails and news updates on my iPhone. Ink covered my fingertips and stained my skin. I didn’t care. I was still reveling in nostalgia from the weekend. It was one of the best weekends of my life. It sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. I lived for the New York art fairs! The Armory Show, SPRING/BREAK, VOLTA, Moving Image— I looked forward to the spring shows every year. The day before, I toured Art on Paper at Pier 36 in the LES. A friend had given me VIP tickets. 

I met up with friends later in the afternoon. We drank coffee and walked along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. We discussed the art world, our pets, our families, and our careers. We joked about our exes and thought about the nuances of life. It was sunny and warm for a New York day in early March. I held their baby close to my chest as we walked. I was entirely ignorant of her world and to how soon the scope of her world— and our world— would change. 

“Fuck,” I mouthed to myself. BREAKING NEWS: Several East Coast Universities Cancel Classes in Coronavirus Response. I put my phone down on my lap and buried my face in my ink-stained hands.  

The printshop smelled of paint thinners and chemicals. The air was dank. I was starting to feel nauseated from the fumes. What did it mean that colleges all around the city were canceling classes? Was this the beginning of a lockdown? No, they’re just following protocol, I thought. This is temporary. 

I stood up to stretch, and to get back to work. I put my phone in my back pocket and headed up the stairs. At that moment, my phone vibrated with a text message from my husband, Matthew: 

“Our lab is closing, indefinitely. I have an hour to pack up my office and leave the building.”

Indefinitely sounded exaggerated. I was sure he meant a week or two—at least I had hoped it wouldn’t be longer than that. Our apartment was already crowded enough. 

I looked around the printshop, suddenly aware of how quiet it was. Everyone had gone home for the day. It occurred to me that maybe the printshop would also close. In which case, I would have to call my students to postpone our sessions for a few weeks. Maybe I should head home, I thought. My throat was itchy and I had developed a mild cough, on top of chemically-provoked nausea. Allergies. Yes, that is it—allergies. I always get a bit of a cough when the seasons change.

Later that night, I texted my cousins to ask if anyone had heard from our extended family in Bari, Italy. 

Two days later, I noticed my cough was getting worse. It was allergies— and maybe stress. I had convinced myself of that. 

“Julia, you should really call your doctor,” said my friend with the baby. 

My dog and I were walking around Prospect Park when she called. I was happy to hear her voice, despite her concerns about my health. Should I call my doctor? No, I’m fine, I thought. I’ll pick up cough syrup in the morning. Maybe if I tell her I’m drinking cough syrup then she’ll stop worrying about me.  

The next day I walked to the bodega on 8th Avenue and asked the owner if she had any cough syrup. I was too focused on her breath to hear her words. I could feel it circle in the air. I pictured infected and microscopic droplets touching my face. My heart began to race as the panic set in. I stepped back, thanked her anyway, and wished her a good day. I’ve always liked her. 

I called my doctor from the corner of 7th Ave., outside of the fourth bodega of the day. I assured him I didn’t have COVID but I really needed cough syrup. I couldn’t find it anywhere. The hoarders of Park Slope had planned for this. He addressed me gently as if I were about to receive life-altering news. He ignored my self-diagnosis of allergies and recommended that I pick up the prescriptions immediately and take them as directed until the bottles ran out. He also suggested that I self-quarantine and use an inhaler—“just in case.” We both knew that getting a COVID test was a nearly impossible feat. 

The next day, word got around that some of my colleagues were sick with COVID-like symptoms. It’s a good thing I was laid off, I thought. Matthew and I were going over our finances. I could tell he was stressed. He assured me his job was secure but I was skeptical. We both knew that my loss of income would drain our savings. In times of skepticism and uncertainty, I’ve found that it’s helpful to make lists of gratitudes and to recite them as mantras. 

We are safe. We are healthy. We are blessed.  

New worries involving probable state mandates and rumors of forced isolation began to culminate in the media. Fears of de Blasio shuttering the bridges and quarantining the city were circulating and had reached the ears of most New Yorkers. Upon learning this news, Matthew decided we should shelter in place with his family, in a small suburb north of Boston. We would share his mother’s one-bedroom apartment. He decided that we would sleep on the floor, and I would work on my art in her living room. 

I refused. Brooklyn was my home. If the virus was going to ravage and decimate the city for a few weeks, or maybe a month, I would be there to see it through. This couldn’t last forever, could it?

The disagreement continued for hours. 

Cigarette butts began to collect in a defaced olive jar on our back porch. Throughout the week, I reminded Matthew that the CDC recognized smokers as “high-risk” and vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. “You really need to take Chantix,” I said. 

My friend with the baby told me to go easy on him. “This is a stressful time for everyone,” she said. 

 I had convinced myself that this was all temporary. I would take this time to work in my studio and continue developing my visual arts practice. If I am forced to stay in Brooklyn, I should at least be productive, I thought. This can’t last forever. I will be back at work soon enough. 

That day I sat in my studio, surrounded by my work, and cried. My art, which is largely autobiographical, was not important. People were dying.

 The laundromat that I had used regularly for two years was closed. I worried about the owners, two brothers. I hoped they had closed for personal reasons unrelated to the pandemic. Our Federal Government has failed to protect essential workers, I thought. 

. . .

It was April 12, Easter Sunday. This day means everything to my family but nothing to me. I walked home from my art studio, up to 18th street to 7th Ave. A cop rode past on a motorcycle, slowing down at the four-way stop. He flashed his lights to stop the cars approaching him. Behind him was a black Cadillac hearse with a purple flag that read funeral. There was no congregation of mourning family; no church bells; no priest. The body would likely be buried alone. I wondered if the unlucky person passed away in isolation. I imagined that the body inside of the hearse belonged to an older man— a man with a bald head and a full beard. I prayed for his soul to reach others, somewhere in another realm, far away from Brooklyn. 

I called my Dad to wish him a Happy Easter and to tell him that I missed him. Physically, I was healthy, somehow, but mentally, I was slowly falling apart. The isolation, the economic fallout, the burials on Hart Island, the nonstop news updates— COVID was consuming all of my time. It was the first thing I read about in the mornings and the last thing I would consider at night. I was hardly sleeping in those days. Small moments of solitude were infamously interrupted by the sounds of ambulance sirens. 

“Dad, can you hear that?” I asked. The NYPD was looping around the park with a megaphone, blasting prerecorded messages at park-goers to “wear a mask” and “stay at a six-foot distance.”

“This feels like… Communism,” I said. As soon as the word Communism rolled off my tongue, I regretted it. 

“This is not what Communism is like,” said my Dad, apathetic to my misery and inherent privilege. He reminded me that his parents and siblings lived through the Mussolini regime in Bari. My dad was born a year after the war ended. “You kids have it so much better than we did.” 

A month later, police officers arrested a young Black mother at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center Station for not wearing her mask properly. The encounter ended in a violent assault. 

We gave our landlord a 30-day notice on May 1st. Our lease was up and he refused to let us continue renting month-to-month, despite the city’s high-infection rate and the eviction moratorium. Maybe this will be good for us, I thought. Matthew had accepted a job offer in Southern California. 

. . .

The 7:00 pm cheers for medical frontlines and essential workers kept me going. I looked forward to them every night and made an effort not to miss them. But tonight I was cheering quietly. I was carrying home groceries and didn’t want the bags to touch the ground. I listened to the sounds of applause, and the car horns, and the homemade instruments, while consequently walking past the trailer morgues on 7th Ave. Holding my breath, I peered through the gate. The morgue workers were outside. This can only mean one thing, I thought. 

I don’t think I will ever be able to expunge the horror that the images of those trucks brought to the city or me personally. Coming back from that hellscape seemed [and sometimes, still seems] unimaginable. 

It was the end of May and the moving truck had come and gone. We cuddled up in blankets and sleeping bags on the hardwood floor of our apartment. The sounds of police sirens were aggressive, and we heard helicopters circling overhead. We knew they were headed towards Barclays. We laid awake in silence for most of the night. I prayed for the safety of the protestors. 

The next morning we packed up our Jeep and left the city. The dogs were in the back, wedged between suitcases and sleeping bags. We drove over the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island and through Jersey. I thought about the past few months and all of the loss the city endured. It would take time, maybe years, but the city would heal. Nature has a way of rebounding after wildfires devastate the land; and so would NYC. I would miss Brooklyn and the life I had created, but I was eager to get to California. The state’s economy was in the early stages of reopening and the infection rate in Los Angeles was on the decline.  

Los Angeles has a great art scene, I thought. How delightful it was to be so naïve. 

Filed Under: Feature, Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary VIII – Tanabel: Delivering Food, Jobs, and Community, Amid the Pandemic

May 27, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

As New York’s (confirmed) death toll nears 24, 000, nine out of ten regions across the state have steadily begun reopening non-essential sectors and easing stay-at-home restrictions. In the five boroughs, where “PAUSE” mandates could last through June 13, small, socially distant gatherings of up to ten people are once again allowed. While some New Yorkers are beginning to ease back into the “hustle” and vigor of the past, others are confronted with new challenges. Job loss, income instability, and food insecurity are only a few of countless issues, trailing the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Recently, city officials announced that roughly one in four New Yorkers, living in the metropolitan epicenter of COVID-19 infections, lacks adequate food.

Brooklyn-based Mutual Aid groups, small businesses, and local activists have long been organizing food pantries and providing emergency groceries to New Yorkers in need of assistance. Tanabel, a food and events company in Park Slope, opened a food drive for refugee and asylum-seeking families in late- March, soon after the announcement of  “NY State on Pause.”

“We have a built a brand around the experience of communal dinners,” said Tanabel owner, Hannah Goldberg. “Because of the pandemic, our company has adopted a ‘dinner in a bag’ model. We’ve been cooking takeout feasts for Muslim communities and Brooklyn clients during the Ramadan season, and making weekly deliveries of culturally-sensitive groceries and essential items to refugee families all over the city.”

Goldberg, a writer, world-traveler, and experienced Brooklyn chef, founded Tanabel after learning about President Trump’s directive, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. The widely criticized Executive Order was created to temporally ban noncitizens from seven majority- Muslim countries, and to indefinitely suspend the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States. Goldberg, who had previously worked with refugee resettlement organizations, saw food as a way to bridge cultural gaps and provide job opportunities for refugee and asylum-seeking women. She invited women from Syria, Iraq, and other countries in conflict, to host dinner parties, teach cooking classes, and prepare gourmet meals that celebrate and reflect Middle Eastern culture and cuisine. Utilizing her culinary expertise and home kitchen as a source for outreach, Goldberg was able to effectively counter the Trump Administration’s anti-immigration policy, and provide community, equality, and independence for her chefs.

“There are gaps in integrating refugee women into NYC,” said Goldberg. “Tanabel was created to empower and highlight the talents of immigrant women, but it also serves as a place for them to find community and meaningful, empowering employment.”

Tanabel, a derivative of Souk el Tanabel, or the Arabic word for “lazy-person,” describes a utilitarian concept of meal preparation. In Syria, bushels of fresh produce are delivered to the home kitchens of women, who then prepare rich and complex, labor-intensive meals for merchants at the “lazy person’s” market. 

“There are a lot of really earnest women in New York City, making incredibly sophisticated food,” said Goldberg. “The women I employ bring a true home-cooked angle to the meals they prepare. I’ve worked with food all of my life, but I’ve learned the most from my chefs. Their talents are extraordinary, and the ingredients they use are esoteric to American cuisine and culture.” 

An unprecedented influx of unemployment claims and food insecurity, following the novel coronavirus pandemic, have affected many refugee and asylum-seeking communities. For Tanabel’s chefs, some living in the hardest-hit regions of New York City, the economic shutdown and strict state mandates meant relinquishing employment and camaraderie. 

“Tanabel is still open for carry-out, although many of our chefs are not able to leave their apartments,” said Goldberg. “They are the matriarchs of their families, and now they are needed in their homes. For some of the women, it is simply not safe to take public transit to our kitchen.” 

In March, Goldberg organized an emergency food drive, providing culturally-sensitive grocery aid to hundreds of refugee and asylum-seeking families throughout New York City. Neighbors for Refugees and Mask for NY have donated masks to include in the grocery deliveries. The handmade cloth-masks are sewn by refugees living in West Chester.

Goldberg hopes to open a brick-and-mortar store in the future, but says that for now, she is stepping back to let Tanabel evolve. Large, family-style feasts and a la carte items are available for take-out, cooked with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients. Goldberg has continued working privately with different chefs each week to prepare the meals.

“This experience has deepened my relationship with my chefs and has brought me closer to my neighbors and community,” said Goldberg. “The emergency food drive has been incredibly rewarding. Through donations, we have helped hundreds of people put food on their tables.” 


Since 2017, Tanabel has brought refugee cuisine of the highest quality to the tables of New Yorkers through cooking classes, pop-dinners, and catering. Now they are providing ample and culturally sensitive deliveries of fresh produce and shelf-stable products to hundreds of refugee families living in New York City. To support Tanabel’s food drive, please donate here. 

For more information on take-out catering, please visit Tanabel.com. 


Contribute to Park Slope Reader’s Covid-19 Relief Fund to support our staff, writers, artists, and advertisers during this time.

During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to continuing to serve our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods, while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary VII – 
Dave the Spazz: COVID Felt Like Blowtorches Behind Each One of My Eyeballs

May 19, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Dave the Spazz. ©Tim K. Smith.

In the past few weeks, many states, including Georgia, Texas, and Ohio have lifted stay-at-home restrictions and steadily begun to reopen non-essential industries. In upstate New York, rural, less-affected areas have slowly reopened select retailers, and construction and manufacturing sectors. Governor Cuomo’s blueprint for reopening New York State divides the state into regions, each with specified timetables and guidelines. The detailed plans announced that restrictions will not be eased until the region meets specific criteria, including available hospital beds and programs for COVID-testing and contact-tracing. New Yorkers, living in the metropolitan area, can expect the economic shutdown and stay-at-home mandates to extend through June 13. 

Native New Yorker and host at WFMU, Dave the Spazz, is one of many recovering COVID-19 patients, living in the epicenter of novel coronavirus cases. Dave launched his radio career in 1982 at WPKN in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and now hosts the popular radio show, Music to Spazz By. The weekly show consists of music from an eclectic mix of genres, ranging from R&B and soul sounds to garage punk and live R&R bands.     

We spoke to Dave the Spazz about music, politics, antibody testing, and adjusting to the at-home DJ-life, following a long bout with COVID-19. Our conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Park Slope Reader: Can you tell us about your radio show, Music to Spazz By? 

Dave the Spazz: I’ve been hosting a weekly show at WFMU in Jersey City (91.1 FM) for the past 33 years. WFMU is a listener-supported, non-commercial, freeform radio station that encourages DJs to push the boundaries of entertainment, creativity, and sometimes, taste. Music To Spazz By is a fast-paced party that features rock & roll from the past 100 years. Bingo the Chimp produces the show, or at least he thinks he produces the show, but he’s frequently more trouble than he’s worth. And he files my records away upside down and out of order.

PSR: In a social media post, you explained that both you and your wife, Nancy, were infected with COVID-19 in late March. There were statewide shortages of test kits and PPE at that time. Were you and Nancy tested? 

Dave: In the second half of March it was nearly impossible to get tested. I’m an “essential worker” at my day job, Broadcast Engineer at WNYC/WQXR, and I still didn’t qualify for testing. One of the few ways to get tested was to check into an ER but only if you were at death’s door. 

PSR: Do you know how you contracted the virus?

Dave: I probably contracted COVID-19 from my morning C-train commute. It’s always packed at 6 am.

PSR: How has the pandemic disrupted your radio show?

Dave: With the exception of a tiny, brave skeleton crew, WFMU has cautiously put our Jersey City location on lockdown for the next 12 months. In an unheard rally of competence, most of the DJs are broadcasting from their ratty apartments/sprawling mansions either live-to-tape or live-to-air. It’s a real achievement for a legendary gang of underachievers to quickly embrace this technology. WFMU is more of a community than just a music station. The listeners are happy that we’re still on the air, mostly in real-time, cranking out their favorite noise.

PSR: You have described the symptoms of COVID-19 as, “unrelenting misery” and wrote in a social media post, “Neither of us could have been prepared for symptoms that were this insane.” Can you further explain the intensity of COVID-related symptoms?

Dave: We would get winded just walking across the room. Nancy had respiratory issues, exhaustion, and dry coughs. We both had fevers, chills, body aches, no appetite, and the lack of smell and taste. Lack of taste was a truly odd sensation. It turns out that eating is a disgusting act that many of us do several times a day. Even drinking water was difficult. Five days in, one of my lymph nodes swelled up to the size of a ping-pong ball. One night, Nancy woke up in agony as her inflamed lungs pressed down into her stomach. That was almost an emergency room night.

We lived with COVID-19 in its full glory for about 10 days or so. During that period I got slammed with four days in a row of the worst bout of blinding headaches I’d ever experienced in my life. Each session was six hours long with two in particular that were especially brutal. The COVID-headache was an odd, ruthless sort of duck. It laughed at the Tylenol I was throwing at it; chewed it up like Pez and spat it back at me. It felt like there were blowtorches behind each one of my eyeballs, with an elephant firmly seated on my forehead. I’ve had broken bones, concussions, been doored by cars, and tossed out into traffic, yet I have never experienced pain as excruciating as those headaches. 

Six weeks after recovering, we still can’t shake off some lingering symptoms. Nancy’s congestion issues and my headaches. I still have daily headaches although they are not nearly at the “blowtorch” and the “elephant” intensity. I’ve been diagnosed with the post-coronavirus complication, Sinusitis. Fluid was detected behind my right ear. It’s usually a dull pain that migrates to different parts of my skull, bouncing around like a barely working string of Christmas lights. 

PSR: While NYC remains the epicenter of COVID-19 cases, testing-sites are becoming increasingly available, with more than 1.4 million already tested in the state. You were not tested for COVID-19 infection; have you been tested for antibodies?

Dave: Yes, I eventually got an antibody test and the results, if their accuracy is to be believed, are perplexing. The antibody test looks for the presence of short term (IGM) and long-term (IGG) antibodies. Short-term antibodies detect that COVID-19 was in the body within the past 14 days. Long-term antibodies confirm that one had COVID-19 at some point. 

I tested positive on both short and long term antibodies. Long term wasn’t a surprise but the short-term positive reading didn’t make sense. I haven’t had COVID within the past 14 days–it has been more than six weeks. Based on those odd findings, my doctor administered the classic footlong swabs up the nose, COVID-19-style. I’m currently waiting for the results.

PSR: In a social media post you wrote, “This pandemic was tragically avoidable. COVID-19 is like 9/11 in slow motion.” Many New Yorkers who experienced 9/11 have compared the two events. Can you further explain this analogy?

Dave: Both tragedies were brought upon by a deadly combination of incompetence and evil. Warning signs for each tragic event were dismissed for lazy and/or nefarious reasons by our elected officials. I was in NYC around 9/11 and worked at two jobs, both near West Canal Street. The initial impact of the airplanes hitting the World Trade Center was over in minutes but the health consequences that followed will continue to last for decades. On a more simplistic level, COVID-19 is a slow-moving beast. Its devastation crawls along like two airplanes stuck in aspic.

PSR: What are your thoughts on the federal government’s response to the pandemic? 

Dave: Our president and his toadies dropped the ball on this one through ignorance and shortsighted greed. They have a lot to answer for, and in a just world, they would be held accountable for their actions, or inactions. Trump’s a madman but I blame his yes-men, cretins, even more for having his back and legitimizing all of this. 

PSR: What about New York State’s response?

Dave: Andrew “I’ll change my name to ‘Amazon’” Cuomo certainly appears rational and oddly comforting these days, especially in comparison to Trump’s insanity. However, the NYC and NY State response was slipshod and late to the pandemic. For the most part, I blame New York’s dysfunctional and bickering parents, de Blasio and Cuomo. Schools and playgrounds should be open or closed, subways cleaned or not cleaned, St Patrick’s Day parade or not– these were only a few issues that were botched by their mismanagement. 

More importantly, I think that along with other politicians and corporation owners, Governor Cuomo is underreporting the numbers of confirmed and probable COVID-19 associated deaths. Deaths at home or outside of the health care system, false negatives on tests, and infections after testing are all variables that may not be accurately figured into the total count. For any plan to reopen schools and businesses, and not have it be an even worse catastrophe, we need accurate information. Cooking the books won’t save our asses this time.

PSR: The pandemic, and first-hand experience with the COVID-19 infection, have disrupted your life in ways that many people cannot imagine. What has been the greatest challenge for you and Nancy during this time of unfortunate adversity? 

Dave: In April, Nancy’s eldest sister contracted COVID-19 and died a week later. She was living in a step-down care facility after a brief hospitalization in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The nurses said that no one at the facility had COVID-19, although no tests were performed. 

It was heartbreaking for Nancy’s family to not have a funeral, and not be able to console each other in person. There was no opportunity to look a loved one in the eye and ask, “What the hell just happened?” To hear that someone you know is sick is an almost daily event. It’s worse than catching it yourself.

PSR: In a recent post, you wrote, “The mystery of what each day brings can be confounding and agonizing.” I am assuming you still feel this way. Is there anything keeping you hopeful? 

Dave: What we don’t know about this virus outweighs what we do. This is a mysterious and serpentine virus that continues to outwit us at every turn. Ignoring its global impact is a fool’s errand and currently, fools are at the wheel. 

I’m hopeful that a vaccine at some point will rein in COVID’s obliterating destruction, or at least slow it down. If we’re ever going to beat this, it means being patient and settling down for the long haul. This will be a protracted process and the sooner that we acknowledge that the rest of 2020 is a bust, the better we’ll be able to cope with uncharted days ahead. 

PSR: Which musicians are you listening to off-the-air? Has the pandemic changed your musical selection? 

Dave: Aside from WFMU, New Orleans music really pulled us through the worst of this. Josh Paxton is an amazing piano player in the James Booker, Allen Toussaint, and Fats Waller style. His Saturday night streamed solo shows direct from NOLA were a party and a tonic. Also, in place of this year’s Jazz Fest, WWOZ aired rare Jazz Fest broadcasts with Irma Thomas, Dr. John, Fess, and Ella Fitzgerald.


Music to Spazz By is a listener-supported, non-commercial, freeform radio show, hosted by Dave the Spazz and produced by Bingo the Chimp. Tune in to WFMU  (91.1 FM) on Thursdays from 9 pm- Midnight for the best tracks in late-night R&R.


Contribute to Park Slope Reader’s Covid-19 Relief Fund to support our staff, writers, artists, and advertisers during this time.

During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to continuing to serve our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods, while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary VI- I Will Keep Sewing Masks As Long As People Need Them: An Interview with Carla Bellisio

May 12, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Since the early days of the novel coronavirus outbreak, confusion and controversy surrounding self-protective measures and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have continued to circulate in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend wearing non-surgical grade masks and cloth face coverings in public and reserving high-grade N95 respirator masks for healthcare workers and medical first responders. A review of federal purchasing contracts confirmed that the Trump Administration failed to stockpile life-saving medical equipment, vital to protecting medical frontline workers and treating patients infected with COVID-19. The fractured federal response to the pandemic has caused mass shortages in PPE and ventilator machines, draining resources from the Strategic National Stockpile.

The shortages of medical equipment and PPE have led many skilled artisans and emergency response collectives to organize, producing thousands of units of protective wear each week. Professional Fashion Designer and Co-Founder of Fermata Designs, Carla Bellisio, has sewn hundreds of cloth facemasks and reusable surgical gowns for essential workers, first responders, and frontline health personnel.

We spoke to Bellisio to get a rare glimpse into the life of a professional artist, amid the pandemic. Our conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

PSR: Where are you from, and how long have you worked in the fashion industry?   

Carla Bellisio: I was born and raised in central New Jersey, along the coast, and moved to New York City in 2005. I have worked in costume design for numerous theatre companies in the city, and I am currently studying Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion. 

I started making doll clothes at a very early age. I was unhappy with the manufactured clothing that the dolls were dressed in. I began sewing my own. Earlier generations of my family lived in New York. My grandmother worked as a milliner in the garment district, and my dad was born and raised in Flatbush. When he was a boy, he worked for a manufacturer in the garment district as an errand boy.  A generation before that, my great grandfather worked as a glover in Italy.  

PSR: NYC’s first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus was reported on March 1. When did you first begin sewing masks?

Carla Bellisio: I was still in Europe when the virus was first reported in NYC. I came home for Easter break during the second week of March. At first, I wasn’t thinking too much about the possibility of not being able to return to school after the break. The plane ride to New York was daunting. I realized that I might not be able to return to London after the break and that I would need to quarantine myself for a few weeks. I did not start making masks right away; I did a lot of research first. I knew I had the resources and capability to make large quantities of masks. I wanted the specifications to be correct so that I could utilize my resources and time in the most effective way possible. 

The first set of 150 masks was made with supplies from my own stock. I sent the masks to friends, family, neighbors, and local workers. I also sent boxes of masks to physicians and nurse practitioners at the Thomas Jefferson University teaching hospital in Philadelphia, and Columbia Presbyterian hospital here in New York. It wasn’t until later that I began making surgical gowns for medical workers. 

PSR: To clarify, you are supplying the materials to sew masks. How are you able to sustain this model, and have you considered asking for donations?  

Carla Bellisio: When my supplies began to narrow, my friends and family sent me fabric. I have not asked for cash donations or charged for the masks. I don’t feel that it is right for me to profit off of them.  Once you start selling masks, it becomes a business and you have to give customer service. 

I recently partnered with two artists coalitions to make PPE. The fabric is provided by the organizations. 

PSR: You are working with emergency response organizations, The Skilled Laborers Brigade, and Broadway Relief Project. You have sewn hundreds of reusable masks for public service workers and surgical gowns for the medical community. Can you tell us more about your involvement with these organizations?

Carla Bellisio: The Broadway Relief Project was contracted by the NYC EDC (Economic Development Corporation) to build 39,000 emergency gowns for NYC hospitals. So that’s what I am working on now.  The previous gowns I made also went to NYC hospitals. 

I received an update email from The Skilled Laborers Brigade. The box of 50 masks I stitched for them contributed to a set of 5,000, which went to:

  • 1,500 masks into the hands of Firefighters in Freemont, CA
  • 600 masks into the hands of ER Nurses at Mt. Sinai West
  • 1,500 masks into the hands of doctors across NYC
  • 300 masks to nurses at Burke Rehabilitation
  • 300 masks to doctors Montefiore Medical Center
  • 800 masks to doctors in NY/NJ

PSR: That’s incredible. Has this experience been personally rewarding for you?

Carla Bellisio: Yes, it really has. I’m still taking classes remotely and working towards my Master’s degree, but sewing PPE for frontline workers has given me a lot of purpose during this time. The physical act of sewing is meditative and has kept me focused. 

PSR: You are studying Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Art. How has the pandemic changed the trajectory of your studies? 

Carla Bellisio: The pandemic is affecting all of my assignments. This has truly changed the future of the fashion industry. If we ignore the effects of this then we ignore the pandemic. PPE has traditionally been disposable. The gowns are made of paper with a plastic backing. Now we are sewing reusable cloth gowns, made of cotton. If there is any silver lining, it’s that we needed to slow down and create clothing that is ethically sourced and consciously produced. The fashion industry can aggressively take steps to improve fashion sustainability.

PSR: The PPE you are sewing is made of reusable cotton fabrics, none of which are medical grade. Multiple reports suggest that the Trump administration not only failed to prepare hospitals and essential frontline workers with life-saving equipment, including N95 respirator masks and ventilator machines, but they also rejected offers from medical supply manufacturers. What is your response to this? 

Carla Bellisio: I’m reluctant about it. The masks and gowns I have sewn are not surgical, medical-grade. These are not N95 masks; they are cloth. I was happy to make cloth facemasks for my friends and neighbors. I wanted them to feel protected going to the grocery store. It’s unnerving that artists and designers are making PPE for medical workers. We are making these items in our apartments, not sterile spaces. If hospitals had steady supplies of the proper medical equipment, many lives could have been saved.

PSR: Both President Trump and Vice President Pence have faced criticism for rejecting the recommendations of the CDC and their own administration’s counsel to wear face masks in public spaces. In New York, all residents over the age of two are mandated to wear a mask or cloth face-covering in public. Last week, Mayor De Blasio announced that the city will distribute 7.5 million face coverings to New Yorkers in select locations. What is your response? 

Carla Bellisio: I think the mandate is a good idea, but only paired with the free mask initiative. When I began making masks there was a lot of conflicting information about the efficacy of wearing them, but overall they do provide protection. By mandating their use, I think it emphasizes the need to be smart about wearing PPE, but providing free masks is crucial.  One of the reasons I don’t charge for masks is because I know how important it is for everyone to have a base level of protection. I try to make it easy for my community to access them. I will keep sewing masks as long as people need them.


SUPPORT PARK SLOPE READER – KEEP US FREE AND LOCAL

During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to continually serving our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods, while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary V- Love Letter from Florence, Italy

May 5, 2020 By Alessandra Bogner Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

I miss Brooklyn. 

I admit that since I left nearly 7 years ago, I’ve had moments of missing things about Brooklyn, but I was very present in my new life in Florence, Italy and loved living here…until now. Today we are on day 48 of our lockdown in Italy. My people back in NYC think they’re on lockdown, but trust me, they’re not.

The Coronavirus made it to Italy in early February and by March 9th, the entire country was shut down. It happened so fast. I mean Italy is not exactly a place that you would ever call “efficient” so the way it went down was shocking. Since the lockdown, Italy has become what I call a “police state” and that means I can’t do shit without risking a serious fine. I can’t go by myself for a walk or a drive – unless I am going to the pharmacy, the supermarket or a doctor. Before leaving the house, you need to prepare yourself to be stopped by any of the 3 police forces and have your signed documents declaring you’re not sick, where you live and where you’re going. And if not on “an essential mission” your ass is getting a fine anywhere between 400 and 4000 euros. God forbid you’re 2 people together, you’re totally screwed. If 2 people are in the car, one has to be in the back seat (one of the many rules that make absolutely no sense to me). Basically, I have to stay the fuck home or stay within 200 meters of my house or risk a fine. This is lockdown. Actually, this is a war of sorts and this Brooklyn girl is pissed that I didn’t have the foresight to choose my comrades correctly.

Before the lockdown was official and we really had no idea what we were in for, we talked about going back to NY, but decided we would stay put. Our son Dean was supposed to graduate from high school and we couldn’t risk missing that. Hindsight can be a very cruel thing.

I mean the first couple of weeks were fine. At first, I felt as if I’d almost manifested time slowing down and getting to spend quality time with my son who’s supposed to go to college in the fall. We are lucky enough to live in a roomy house with lots of property to move around with our 2 poochies. We were cooking, eating, laughing, playing cards. Sure, we could do this for a couple of weeks…ahhh, the innocence. We were happy and grateful fools. I was even impressed with how swiftly the Italian government went into action…and I still am. Very fucking impressed. But, again, that hindsight is a bitch. The Brooklyn girl in me doesn’t feel comfortable being locked down and afraid to go anywhere. I understand the gravity of the situation, and I would have locked myself down regardless of the police presence, but they made this shit feel like a war and I have no idea who to call the enemy.

While I am sure the sentiments might be the same everywhere during this global pandemic, I long for my people of Brooklyn.

My parents immigrated to the US from Italy in the 60s, settled in Brooklyn and I was born and raised in Sheepshead Bay during the 70s and 80s. This means that I am a tough chick, with lots of heart and humor and I am guided by this inner force of community and connection. As dangerous as NYC was during that time, for some reason we felt safe, because we were in Brooklyn. Everyone watched out for each other, and when we had beef with someone, we dealt with it face on. No whining and complaining (perhaps a lot of screaming), but Brooklynites are no one’s victim. Did we lose our shit from time to time? Of course we did. Brooklynites are passionate about their shit. But you came together and handled your problems. No one ever snitched, because that was the lowest thing you could do (got that, Mr. de Blasio?). We grew up in a time before people got offended at everything and lost their sense of humor. In fact, the Brooklyn I grew up in was quite fond of offending each other just to get a laugh. We should all be watching out and taking care of each other, especially right now. I wish that the US was taking better care of us and that we didn’t have to worry about basic needs like healthcare and toilet paper. But they’re not. It’s up to us to make each other feel safe.

When the terrorists attacked NYC on that morning of September 11, 2001, despite the fear and uncertainty, our other superpowers -connection and resilience – kicked into gear. I have never felt a connection to every single person like I did during that time. The city survived on that feeling of oneness and connection and we rose above the fear and uncertainty together. No one had to tell us what to do; we were guided by that inner force with our feet planted firmly on top of our New York roots. I go into town here in Florence and if God forbid I catch someone’s eyes to make a connection, they turn their head. As we say in Brooklyn, get the fuck outta here. I mean, do you really think you’re going to catch the virus through eye contact? But I don’t get offended, because their actions speak of who they are; not who I am. Fear is what this virus feeds on; it makes us feel separate and vulnerable. Just like we did during the terrorism scare, we will heal in community. 

I don’t really listen to the news, but I see videos of my NYC brothers and sisters clapping out their windows for essential workers. I even watched a video of a friend who placed his speakers outside his window and blasted Brooklyn-boy-Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind” for the whole block to hear. And what about the other night when the fire trucks lined up in front of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and one of NYs bravest belted out the Jimi Hendrix version of the National Anthem on his guitar? I cried like a baby from my expat home. I wanna go back to Brooklyn and be in the bosom of my people. It’s not that I don’t like the Florentines – that’s not it at all, because they too are a resilient people and I am incredibly grateful to the Italians and my life here. The supermarkets are still filled with food and all the essentials and I have my bidet, but they don’t have that Brooklyn blood that bonds us.

For 48 days the only stores that have been open are pharmacies, fresh food markets and tobacco stores (the Italian “essential services”). That means that every other business has been shut down, leaving many many people facing financial ruin in one fell swoop. The other day I got the most amazing news – a friend was opening his restaurant and they were going to deliver pizza! I felt as if I’d won the lottery! My son is lactose intolerant, but fuck it, he’ll have the leftovers in the fridge. I immediately contacted the people on our property with the good news.

See, I live in a 15th century villa that sits on a hill right outside the city center and this villa was cut up into apartments about 20 years ago, so there are about 8 of us that live on this property. I was so incredibly disappointed to get their responses that they will make their own pizzas. Now, of course I was excited at the prospect of not cooking for the first time in 6 weeks, but I was even more excited about the sense of rebuilding community and being able to help these small businesses. The opportunity of helping a family and a business get back on their feet gives me an incredible amount of joy and hope. Call it the New York in me.

This is the second time I’ve left Brooklyn. The first time was in 1992 when I crossed the bridge into Manhattan, because I needed to do the whole sex, city and career thing of the 90s and noughties. In 2007, I crossed the bridge back into Brooklyn, but chose Park Slope for its community feel, good schools and bagels. Park Slope was a very different place than the Brooklyn where I grew up. My son attended PS 39 and sometimes I felt like I was the only native Brooklynite amongst a field of transplants. But Mother Earth Brooklyn is a powerful bitch where transplants thrive. A few years later, we bought our house in Fiske Terrace, which I thought would be my final resting place. I guess we’ve all figured out by now that man makes plans and God laughs. In 2013, my family moved to Florence, where I became the transplant, except here, we call ourselves the expats. Life seemed a little easier here, as the Italians really do understand la dolce vita. So, within this new environment, my Brooklyn superpowers helped me thrive and I created an incredible community here. But then the lockdown happened and suddenly I found myself crying for Mother Brooklyn. It’s been the hardest part of this lockdown – missing New York.

Well, maybe the hardest part of the lockdown was yesterday when I lost my internet (and lost my shit). They can get a whole country sitting home in a matter of days, but these fuckers still cannot understand how to improve their internet. 

I don’t know when I will be able to get back to NY, as I don’t think easy air travel will be possible for a while in and out of Europe. But I just want to scream across the ocean to my people, “You got this!” NYC is an army of power prepared for any war and capable of rebuilding a better, more evolved community. It’s time to be old school and to not let the assholes get you down. That which offends you, weakens you.

Every day when you wake up, put on your cape and decide what type of person you’re going to be and how you’d like to be remembered during this time. Will you have brought people up or will you have bitched and complained? You can choose to sit in the kryptonite of fear and offense, or look within and find your superpower. 


SUPPORT PARK SLOPE READER – KEEP US FREE AND LOCAL

During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to continually serving our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods, while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary IV- Local Business Owners Fight for Rent Relief and Official Representation

April 28, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

The novel coronavirus pandemic began as a public health emergency and quickly spiraled into an economic catastrophe for many residential and commercial renters in New York State. Since mid-March, 1.4 million New Yorkers have filed for unemployment benefits, overwhelming the Department of Labor, and contributing to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. For small business owners living in the metropolitan epicenter of the pandemic, the economic shutdown has shuttered their industries and caused tensions with property owners to paramount. The staggering financial losses and absence of federal support have forced many to confront the harsh realities of terminating longtime employees, falling behind in rent payments, and closing their storefronts permanently. 

“98% of the businesses in New York City employ 100 or less people. They’re all small businesses,” said Diana Kane in an interview with ABC News. “New York will be a wasteland if we don’t figure this out.”

Kane, a Park Slope resident and owner of the brick and mortar shop, The Diana Kane Boutique, has been selling small designer, sustainable clothing collections, and handmade accessories since 2002. Small companies like Kane’s, employ more than half of New York City’s private sector workforce, strengthening the state’s economy and contributing to the culture and unique fabric of New York City. Recently, Kane and a coalition of local business owners launched the grassroots movement #WeBuiltThisNYC to bring attention to the plight of small businesses devastated by the economic shutdown. 

Photographs of small business owners wearing surgical masks and cloth face coverings are routinely updated on the initiative’s Instagram page. The owners, standing in front of their locked stores and boutiques, hold signs that read, #WeBuiltThisNYC and #WeBuiltThisBrooklyn. Their personal testimonies circulate through the app’s transient “story” feature; and joint posts demanding rent relief, lease renegotiations, and demands for government action are marked with the hashtags, #Recovery4All, #bettertogether, and #MAYDAY. 

Many of the businesses featured in #WeBuiltThisNYC are owned by women.

While some states have begun slowly reopening their economies, New York State remains under strict stay-at-home mandates. The aggressive measures taken to flatten the curve, are showing to be effective in reducing the spread of the virus; and are ultimately reducing the number of deaths per day. In a recent news briefing, Governor Cuomo sketched out the framework for reopening non-essential sectors of the state, beginning with construction and manufacturing in upstate New York before moving to the metropolitan area. 

“I hear sirens every night,” said Kane. “I think being closed is totally appropriate right now, so I agree with being closed. I don’t agree with having to go out of business because of it.”  

The Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District recently reported that roughly 90% of the 500 businesses they represent are closed. 

Fonda, the owner of the Zuzu’s Petals, said that economic shutdown, including an inadequate amount of federal assistance and the accumulation of bills, is jeopardizing her business of 49 years. Her flower shop, in the heart of Park Slope, was shuttered on March 22, following Governor Cuomo’s Executive Mandate to close all non-essential businesses. 

“We have no income,” Fonda said. “Our rent and some bills, including utilities, insurance, and taxes have been temporarily suspended. The debt is accruing and will have to be paid when we re-open.”

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created with the intent of providing business owners with forgivable loans, but flaws in the program have hindered some small businesses from securing federal relief. The PPP’s initial $349 billion allotment for federal relief was exhausted within two weeks. Both the Senate and House have approved a second relief package of $310 billion. 

“I have applied for the PPP and the EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) from the Small Business Administration,” said Fonda. “I have received no funds. If I am approved for either loan, the money will be insufficient and will not cover the accruing debt. In order to have the loan converted to a grant, 75% of the PPP must be used for payroll. That leaves next to nothing for rent.” 

In an Instagram video, Tara Silberberg, owner of The Clay Pot in Nolita explained her situation. 

“Our Business Interruption Insurance will not cover us in this pandemic, and even when we reopen we don’t expect our sales to be the same,” said Silberberg. She paused before adding, “I was told by Chase that I did not get my PPP loan, and we have to pay our rent on May 1. My rent is $20 thousand a month and my landlord refuses to negotiate with me. He says the rent can be deferred and I will just pay it amortized out over the rest of the year. I can’t get unemployment so I will be forced to borrow money to pay my landlord the rent.” 

The Clay Pot has been in Silberberg’s family since 1969 and has employed thousands of New Yorkers over the years. Originally a pottery studio rooted in the heart of Brooklyn, the business evolved into a jewelry store after the stock market crash of 1987. 

The founders of #WeBuiltThisNYC are now turning to local politicians for help. In an email to Council Member Brad Lander, Kane explains the challenges looming over business owners. 

“Our landlords continue to expect full rent,” Kane wrote. “I received a letter from my landlord demanding back rent, with the addition of late fees and legal fees. While I know some landlords have been more understanding, this is awful added stress in an already disastrous moment. Though I applied for the EIDL, I have received nothing, and no further communication after submitting my application.” 

We asked Fonda of ZuZu’s Petals what she misses the most about pre-pandemic times. 

“I miss my job,” said Fonda. “I miss going to the wholesale market early in the morning and loading my arms with fabulous fresh cut flowers from all over the world. I also miss helping customers chose the right combination of flowers and the proper houseplants. I miss oohing and aahing with them over an incredible piece of handmade pottery. These are the things that I miss.”

A Note from the Editor: 
The Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District has created a comprehensive list of local businesses that are open amid the pandemic, including essential proprietors and online venders. Out of the 500 retailers that the BID represents, almost 90% have closed. Please continue to buy local when possible. 


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Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary III – Gentrification During the Pandemic Targets Gowanus Artists

April 21, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Story update as of April 22: “The landlord will be able to provide an extended move-out period, with a final move out date that is 30 days after the lifting of the NY Pause mandate by Governor Cuomo. Currently, this is in effect until May 15th, which extends the move out until June 15th. We will be working closely with the landlord as things evolve. Since Spaceworks still must close operations, Spaceworks’ agreements will still be terminated on May 31, 2020.”

In the height of the global coronavirus pandemic, a group of Gowanus-based artists, working out of an old sweater factory on President Street, are once again falling victim to gentrification and facing displacement.

“Artists are foot soldiers for gentrification,” said Johnny Thornton, an established Brooklyn artist and Executive Director of the not-for-profit organization, Arts Gowanus. “They move into disused neighborhoods and they build communities. Developers come in and raise the rent so much that they are forced to relocate. This is nothing new.”

540 President St Building

Spaceworks, a nonprofit organization and affiliate of the old factory building, operates below-market-rate workspaces and addresses issues of space affordability for artists living and working in NYC. On March 31 Spaceworks announced the untimely decision to shutter their organization, terminating rental contracts with artists and evicting those with rental properties at 540 President Street. The decision to close their doors came after the economic shutdown of New York State, and during the greatest unemployment crisis in US history. 

In a statement, Spaceworks suggested that the decision to close their doors was made in part from mismanagement of the charitable organization; lacking the sustainability model that the business was built upon.

“Thousands of artists have created countless works in our spaces. Ultimately, we could not create a path that would enable Spaceworks to achieve short or long-term financial stability given our organizational model and operating constraints.” 

Johnny Thornton

“Spaceworks told us that after May 25th we would no longer be able to access the building via our entry cards,” Thornton said. “Moving a studio is not a small undertaking. Many of our artists are freelancers and gig workers; all of their work has disappeared. They’re struggling financially. Asking anyone to move during a pandemic is unethical.”

The announcement of Spaceworks departing blindsided the contracted artists, living in the epicenter of COVID-19 cases. The news came a few weeks after Governor Cuomo signed the “New York State On Pause” Executive Order, a 10-point policy closing all non-essential sectors of the state’s economy. The state mandate, signed on March 20, includes a 90-day moratorium on all residential and commercial properties and restricts landlords from evicting tenants and illegally changing locks. 

“Spaceworks wants the quickest and cheapest way to disband,” Thornton said. “They want us out of the building but without any legal ramifications.”

On April 16, Arts Gowanus, a nonprofit organization that promotes local artists and advocates for sustainable arts communities in Brooklyn, published a newsletter desperately urging real estate developers and property owners to help relocate the newly evicted artists. The newsletter explains that neither Spaceworks nor the property owners, PDS Development Corporation, can guarantee that artists unable to move before the deadline of May 25th will have access to their property in the following weeks.

“Artists and developers typically have a symbiotic relationship, so we reached out to the development company,” Thornton said. “We  (Arts Gowanus) offered to take over Spaceworks’ lease so that artists wouldn’t be evicted. The mission of Arts Gowanus is to keep artists in Gowanus and to stop developers from pushing them out. The model that they (PDS) offer is not sustainable.” 

Thornton contacted Tomasz Naklicki, a real estate developer at PDS. According to Thornton, Naklicki showed no remorse for the dismantling of Spaceworks, nor did the company show any compassion for the artists who are being illegally locked out of their studios and forced to relocate during state-mandated stay-at-home orders. 

“It was the same cold language that I’ve heard from other development companies and property owners,” Thornton said. “They want to remodel and remake the space. There was absolutely no regard for our safety.” 

Rachel Selekman

“The development company is not willing to speak with us,” said Rachel Selekman, a mixed-media artist and longtime resident of 540 President Street. “They’re not willing to negotiate. It’s very clear that they aren’t concerned for the health or wellbeing of artists.”   

Selekman explained that many of the renters of 540 President Street began working from home after learning about the severity of the novel coronavirus outbreak is in NYC. 

“A few weeks ago I went to my studio for the last time,” Selekman said. “I want to decrease exposure for myself and for others.” She paused before adding, “We know of one artist who has COVID-related pneumonia.” 

Thornton also expressed concern for the community of 540 President Street.

“This virus is a real detriment to anyone with a compromised immune system. This is about life and death. It’s just not safe for anyone to be moving,” Thornton said. “They (landowners) are hemorrhaging artists. They would rather have empty studios than to offer a subsidy for artists facing an inconceivable situation. My hope is that some sort of concession can be made with PDS without endangering anyone’s life.” 

PDS Development Corporation did not respond to Park Slope Reader’s request for comment.


During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to serving our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary II – Identity & Unemployment: A Conversation with Maya McCarthy

April 14, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

“I’ve always worked in factories,” said Maya. “I’ve done this since I was 20 years old, and I’ve never really done anything else. I’ve just always done this. It’s very much a part of my lifestyle.” 

Maya McCarthy, 34, is a Brooklyn-based professional artist and self-described, “punk-rocker.” A native to Brooklyn and a child of artistic parents, Maya has always lived and worked in art communities. Gowanus Print Lab, a commercial screenprinting studio, has become a second home to Maya.  She works as a Master Printer, specializing in custom and bulk orders. 

“We’re a cultural enrichment shop,” Maya told me. “We serve clients who need contract-printing services like company t-shirts or paper products printed; but we also serve children, families, and other artists. We offer a variety of classes and supplies for artists. Workspaces like GPL are really fundamental to culture.”

Maya’s daily routine was disrupted in early March, soon after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed the state’s first case of the novel coronavirus. While New York officials determined that the spread of the virus was inevitable, Governor Cuomo, in a statement, assured the public that the patient “knew to take precautions and stay in a controlled situation.”  

“I didn’t really think much of it at first,” said Maya. “I was still wandering down 5th Avenue and going to punk rock shows after my shifts at the print shop. Around the second week of March, our clients began pulling large orders. That’s when I realized how serious this would become.”  

On March 20th, Governor Cuomo issued an On Pause executive order, mandating restrictions to social gatherings and the closing of all non-essential businesses across New York State. The 10-point policy measure was created to assure uniform safety for all New Yorkers and to keep healthcare services available for patients who tested positive for the virus.

“It all happened very quickly,” Maya said. “I put away my inks and organized all of my (silk) screens. I locked the door and that was it. I left without knowing when I would be able to return.”

Like millions of Americans, confronted with furloughed salaries, indefinite unemployment, and stay-at-home mandates, Maya is also facing the loss of income and instability. The halt in her career and interruption to lifestyle is met with an overwhelming sense of confusion and profound unease. 

“My identity is so tied into my job that it is tattooed on my neck,” said Maya. She pauses for a few moments before adding, “This has really affected me emotionally. I want to serve a purpose and be useful.”

Serigrafía, the Spanish translation of serigraphy or silkscreen can be read across Maya’s neck. The delicate cursive letters, blending permanently into her skin, convey an obvious and poignant personal narrative. A silkscreen and the physical act of screenprinting are fundamental to her identity as an artist, while the tattoo serves as an anchor for her individuality. 

State Governments have cautiously shut down many sectors of the economy, leaving over 16 million Americans unemployed and contributing to the worst financial crisis in US history. Many New Yorkers have gone weeks without a paycheck, while a surge in unemployment claims overwhelms the Department of Labor. New York State’s online application system is waiving the 7-day waiting period for Unemployment Insurance benefits for those out of work due to novel coronavirus closures, self-quarantines, and stay-at-home orders. A bipartisan $2 trillion economic relief package, recently passed by Congress, offers assistance to tens of millions of individuals and households affected by the pandemic. The historic extension of unemployment benefits includes expanded unemployment insurance, a one-time stimulus check, and low-interest loans and grants for businesses. 

“The subsidies will help me pay rent and buy food but they aren’t enough to keep everyone moving,” said Maya. “They’re not enough for people who have kids; a lot of people are still waiting on the deposits. This hurts us all.” 

As of Monday evening, April 13, health officials have laboratory-tested and confirmed 104, 410 cases of COVID-19 in the five boroughs, and 195,031 cases in New York State. New York City remains the epicenter of the global pandemic, with a state death toll of more than 10,056. In a news briefing, Governor Cuomo announced that he is extending the executive order, “New York State on Pause” through April 29. While the economic shutdown is slowing the spread of the virus, it offers little hope for essential workers who are at the greatest risk of exposure.

“Essential workers are the most affected,” Maya told me. “They don’t all have the resources to protect themselves or their families, and they’re not being compensated enough. They should be paid more. It’s appalling that people have to compromise their health just to keep their jobs and pay their bills. People are negotiating on so many levels. There’s no fucking easy way to do this.”

I asked Maya if anything has kept her hopeful during this dark and ominous time.

“Yes,” said Maya. “People are connecting and uniting on a true grassroots level. They’re donating food and resources; they’re making masks for essential workers; they’re grocery shopping for the elderly. People are doing what they can to help small businesses stay afloat. There are “mutual aid” groups on Facebook for almost every Brooklyn neighborhood. It’s really inspiring to see people connect with strangers. It makes me smile through the madness.” 


https://www.gofundme.com/f/park-slope-reader-covid19-relief

During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to continually serving our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods, while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

We want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Pandemic Diary I- I Knew I Would Get It: A Conversation with Dr. Dara Kass

April 7, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

 “Once it came to New York, I knew I would get it,” said Dr. Dara Kass, an Emergency Medicine Physician in Manhattan’s New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The Park Slope resident and mother of three, is working on the frontlines of the novel coronavirus pandemic in New York City. The highly contagious respiratory illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first identified during an investigation into a coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, with the first case dating back to November 2019. 

“This is running like wildfire through our city and we’re seeing younger generations test positive for infection,” Kass said. “The level of impact is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

Kass tested positive for COVID-19, after caring for patients in the ER. A few weeks later, news broke that the New York metropolitan area, surging in novel coronavirus cases, had emerged to the epicenter of the global pandemic. By March 31, New York City had topped over 38, 000 confirmed cases of the infection. The Trump Administration’s lack of preparedness, including budget cuts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and allowing for a contract to lapse, maintaining stockpiles of ventilators, has fundamentally contributed to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals throughout NYC are overrun with an influx of infected patients and strained by the limited resources available. Shortages in test kits, personal protective equipment, and life-saving ventilator machines are making both patients and medical personnel vulnerable to infection. In many ways, the Federal Government, lacking a uniform response to the novel coronavirus, set up the healthcare system for failure.   

As a native New Yorker, Dr. Kass has lived and worked through some of the city’s greatest catastrophes, including the coordinated terrorist attacks of September 11 and the unprecedented flooding of Hurricane Sandy. 

“This is a continuous thing,” Kass said. “These other events, like 9/11, were traumatic, but this is much bigger and riskier to people’s lives. It’s very dangerous and unpredictable. It will keep infecting people.”

Dr. Kass watched as the coronavirus spread throughout China, Asia, and Europe, planning for when the virus would eventually come to NYC. 

 “We had to mobilize quickly,” Kass explained. “We were all thinking about policy, and we didn’t know exactly how it would come to NYC, but we knew that it would come and that we would see it through. I sent my kids to stay with family.” 

After testing positive for COVID-19, Dr. Kass took drastic measures to protect her husband. She wore a mask indoors while quarantining herself in a separate living area of their home. She was able to continue assisting her patients remotely through telemedicine, a medical practice that relies on technology to connect patients and physicians without in-person visits. 

The state mandate to close all non-essential businesses and NYPD enforced social distancing guidelines, are part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s stay-at-home executive order, termed “New York State on PAUSE.” New data offers evidence that vigilant measures, including restrictions to social- distancing and non-essential gatherings, are slowing the spread of the virus.

“Flattening the curve keeps our hospitals open,” Kass explained. “What we know is that a vaccine will take about a year to develop, but until then, we have to stop people from getting infected.” She added, “Cuomo has been extraordinary. He is exactly what we need. He has treated the New York hospital systems as a whole, and I look forward to his press conferences every day. He has really been remarkable.” 

In a New York Times feature, Dr. Kass and her co-authors urge government officials and authorities to make mask-wearing a national policy. The editorial explains that in a randomized control trial, participants who wore a surgical mask were 80% less likely to contract a respiratory illness. Kass and co-authors ask the public to restrict buying N-95 masks while offering resourceful alternatives, including cloth masks and handmade face coverings. While surgical masks should be given to workers in essential jobs, cloth masks can reduce the viral spread of the virus and avoid a second wave of infections. 

Recently, President Trump announced in a news briefing that new guidance from the CDC urges Americans to wear cloth face coverings in public. President Trump rejected the advice from the CDC and his administration’s counsel, by adding,  “This is voluntary. I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.”

At the time of publication, New York State has  123,160 laboratory- tested and confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,159 deaths. There are 67,551 cases in the five boroughs. 

16, 479 New Yorkers are currently being hospitalized throughout the state. 

Although Dr. Kass has made a full recovery from COVID-19, she is planning to move out of her home for the duration of the pandemic. The decision was made in part to protect her family, and also to be readily available for her patients and colleagues. 

Dr. Kass and her husband wearing one of Diana Kane’s homemade masks

I decided to ask Dr. Kass something that I’ve wondered about regarding all medical professionals and essential workers: has the coronavirus pandemic made her regret going into the medical field.

“No, not even a little bit,” she told me. “I did my job, and I’m going to go back to do this job until the end. Emergency medical people live for this. This will always be who we are.”


Dr. Dara Kass (@darakass) is an ER Doctor, Professor of Emergency Medicine, public speaker, political activist, and founder of FemInEM, an online platform that cultivates a community for females working in emergency medicine. 

For information on cloth masks in Park Slope: Diana Kane https://www.dianakane.com/products/liberty-print-mask

https://www.gofundme.com/f/park-slope-reader-covid19-relief

Filed Under: Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: julia depinto, pandemic diary

Park Slope Pandemic Diary

April 2, 2020 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Community, Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: community, covid 19, julia depinto, pandemic diary

To Our Readers and Park Slope Community, 

By now, you are familiar with the novel coronavirus. You’ve read about its emergence in Wuhan, China and watched it spread to South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. You’ve learned that President Trump restricted travel to China a few days after Italy detected its first coronavirus case. You’ve watched the Italian Prime Minister announce a nationwide lockdown, followed by chilling videos of panicked and quarantined residents. You’ve listened to their stories, a disturbing foreshadow of the inevitable. “Don’t say you weren’t warned,” they cautioned Americans. 

On March 11, The World Health Organization declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus a global pandemic. After learning this, you probably read the CDC’s recommendations for self-preparedness and researched ways to counter infection. You may have listened to “Ask the Mayor” segments on The Brian Lehrer Show, trusting Mayor de Blasio to keep a sense of normalcy while your world quickly began to unravel. Within a matter of days, your neighborhood was unrecognizable. Your neighbors have left indefinitely, playgrounds are empty, the windows of boutique shops are boarded up, and your favorite café is only serving drip coffee in a to-go cup. As a New Yorker, you’re used to sacrificing your privacy and coexisting in shared spaces, but now what? Now you are on “Pause,” and mandated to practice social distancing in all public places. Recently, you have probably read a headline in all caps: BREAKING NEWS–U.S. LEADS WORLD IN CONFIRMED CORONAVIRUS CASES. 

During this time of uncertainty, we at the Park Slope Reader are committed to continuing to serve our community. Please follow us each week as we catalog changes in our neighborhoods while providing the latest medical developments and valuable resources. Park Slope and adjoining areas are unique to the New York City landscape, and we will continue highlighting our neighbors through weekly editorials. This is a challenging and historic time; please know we are committed to getting through this together. 

Lastly, we want to know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you. If you have a story to share please contact us at office@psreader.com. 

In Solidarity,

PSR 

Filed Under: Community, Pandemic Diaries Tagged With: community, covid 19, julia depinto, pandemic diary

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