W42ST Daily 8/30/2020
We spent time this week surveying you, our readers, on your attitude to outdoor dining. Then we asked over 200 local businesses about how they were surviving the pandemic.
The numbers from the businesses make stark reading (on average trade is 66% down on 2019), but more important is the humanity. As I was completing the article at 11pm last night, I texted a few business owners to see if they had some inspiration to counter the numbers. These are their personal texts.

From Charlie Marshall at The Marshal.

From Nick Accardi at Tavola.

From Jacqui Squatriglia at Flaming Saddles
Read more of the numbers, and the passion, of our local businesses here.
GREAT WOMEN
I’ve not made the trip to Central Park yet, but I will be there to pay tribute to these suffragettes. When I was a kid, I used to visit my Auntie Gert’s home in Liverpool every Sunday. Sometimes her other sisters might be there — Agnes and Marie — but not often. They were frequently away at Rainhill Mental Hospital. I never quite knew what that all meant. It was only in the last two years I found out that Agnes (certainly) was a suffragette — and that was why she was locked up in a mental institution.
Let’s not turn away from those who strive for justice and peace, we see them on our streets and in our country today. 100 years ago, suffragettes were seen as disruptive and violent protestors. It shouldn’t take a century to take action on today’s issues.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
Front-door boarding and fare collections resume on MTA buses tomorrow. Ticket to ride…
Things seem to have come to a stop at 611 W 56th St. Halt…
Set the timer if you’re planning a snooze this afternoon. Alarming…