NEW YORK — City Councilman Joe Borelli has represented Staten Island's South Shore for five years. Mom-and-pop businesses that came back from

"We're past the point of hypothesizing which businesses are closing, because we're already seeing businesses close,” Borelli explains.

On a cold, late autumn afternoon, parts of Hylan Boulevard are deserted. Many storefronts are vacant and others have precious few customers. For sale signs wave from the awnings, padlocks keep the front gates locked, and store owners post neatly typed notes of apology to customers who aren't allowed inside.

Borelli visits Tina's Whiskey Tavern, where just a single worker sits inside, listening to music and passing the time waiting for a lunch crowd that won't come.

Borelli tells the waitress, "The mayor announced a program to help interest-free loans for small businesses, but it helps 100 zip codes and none of them are in the orange zone."

Great Kills is one of several communities in Borelli's district where over 10% of all COVID-19 tests are coming back positive, one of the highest rates in the city.

But Borelli says the average income of residents in the neighborhood is too high for the businesses to be eligible for relief under the city's program. Borelli has asked the mayor's office to rework the program to cover districts this like Great Kills, something his constituents say is needed.

"These are all shut down,” Joe, a short order cook at a local deli, said while gesturing while standing on a sidewalk. “Some construction is shut down. So nobody's coming here for breakfast and lunch. So it's a domino effect."

Kostantino Plaitis, the owner of Andrew's Diner, has been in business for 21 years and has never seen things this bad.

“The last week, week-and-a-half, have been a lot more tough than the beginning of COVID,” Plaitis said.

And Borelli says what's most frustrating is the uncertainty, not knowing when the coronavirus restrictions will ease.

He says it's likely to be a long winter, with the future of area businesses hanging in the balance.

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