W42ST Daily 4/15/2020 - What's next?

Ten years ago, I spent a lot of time filling out grant applications. I was setting up a small children’s charity, and going cap in hand to find funds was a big part of getting the charity up and running.

When I started W42ST magazine as a commercial business five years ago, I never thought that grant application writing skills would be brought into play. However, the last few days have been spent doing just that. And who am I asking for money from? Facebook. Which is more surprising?

The Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund could be a lifeline for the magazine. We’ve done the paperwork, prepared the budget, and pressed send. We’ll see what happens next.

What the process really helped with is changing the mindset from “What now?” to “What’s next?”

Dealing with the now: we’re sitting in the epicenter of world attention for Covid-19. We’re in an area where the Javits Center has been turned into a 2,500-bed hospital, the USNS Comfort is berthed, Broadway is closed, Times Square is empty, and 75% of Hudson Yards tenants have not paid their rent this month. In the midst of all that is a neighborhood. Hell’s Kitchen. You. Us. Wow!

So what’s next? We need to start to gather forces to create an economy again; to build from this unimaginable experience, taking every bit of guile and innovation to revive business, bring work back to the neighborhood., and entice visitors to return to the west side.

W42ST is here to make connections, so let’s talk. What are your big ideas for “What’s next?”. Share with me – we want to help, and see Hell’s Kitchen open 24/7 again soon.

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NEW YORK STORIES
Five weeks ago, Benjamin Huntington got stranded in the Highlands of Scotland after emergency surgery on his eye. Last week, he got the all clear to make the journey home by train, plane and automobile back to New York. Read his story, and more like it, at w42st.com.

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