Stores are finally opening up again and it’s a testament to the resilience and resourcefulness of our Plaza merchants — especially to those restaurant owners who have managed to persevere through the prospect of a complete closedown, to a partial opening of take-out and delivery only, and now to outdoor seating, with the hope of a full (although somewhat restricted) reopening.
However, it now seems that due to unintended consequences of federal government intervention, many workers are not reporting back to work, but instead are staying off the job and collecting unemployment insurance — which in many cases is almost equal to or higher than their previous salaries.
What’s a restaurant owner to do when workers don’t come back to work? How can they operate their businesses without a full staff of employees?
What has our Plaza administration done to help when we, the residents and visitors to our town, want to frequent the restaurants in town but find that the restaurants cannot accommodate them for lack of staff? And, what does a builder, plumber, electrician, or remodeler/handyman do when they can’t get the help to work on necessary jobs?
Village officials should be taking the lead and doing what they were elected to do, not providing excuses or pointing fingers. They should not be reactive.
A proactive administration would consider such things as creating and publicizing a Job Board, listing all the openings in town that are available, along with the requisite skills that each job entails. That’s something that would help all of us.
Other villages have taken advantage of the lack of activity in their towns by engaging in long-needed maintenance, while the Plaza administration can’t seem to find the energy to create schedules that would direct Plaza workers to keep our town from looking shabby, leaving dirty streets and unsightly weeds growing throughout our area.We need an administration that will seek out solutions to the real issues that affect all of us.
Leonard Katz
Great Neck Plaza
