NY business owner: Coronavirus shutdown has been a 'nightmare,' leaders 'not looking out for the small businesses'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New York small business owner told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that the past few months have been a “nightmare” following the temporary closure of her store due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Naoemi Gullickson, the owner of Gifted in Staten Island, went on to say that she has trouble wrapping her head around the fact that New York leaders forced businesses to temporarily shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, but then allowed violent demonstrators to destroy and damage stores.
“It doesn't make any sense,” Gullickson said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It gives me the sense that our leaders here in this state are not looking out for the small businesses that make every small community thrive,” she added.
Last week, looters broke into stores in New York City, wreaking havoc. The city, like others around the country, has been rocked by protests, with some turning violent, over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 while he was in police custody.
Gullickson noted that she finally got permission to reopen this week for curbside pickup or local delivery, but said it will take her a long time to recover from the economic impact of the shutdown.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK CITY IS NOW ONLY PART OF NEW YORK STATE WAITING ON REOPENING
“Imagine spending thousands of dollars for what is supposed to be the second biggest order of your sales business and it's just shut down,” she explained.
Host Brian Kilmeade asked Gullickson, “Are you worried about being able to go back to full strength where you are paying your bills again?”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I am worried,” she said in response. “I don't know what's going to happen.”
“I have had an amazingly supportive community for 14 years so I hope that they come back,” she continued.
She noted that she won’t really know how badly her business has been affected until after the fourth quarter given that retail sales typically "drop off just about at the end of June.”
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She acknowledged that “July and August will be a wash” and “we’ll have to wait and see what happens in the fall.”