On Friday, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger posted a statement with the update that all undergraduate courses for the upcoming fall semester will be held online. This was a change from the earlier plan to have freshman move into the residence halls for in-person classes. He notes that while NYC has come a long way, and they thought they could house 60% of resident hall occupants, they do not believe it is safe to do so at this point.
“Though six weeks ago we thought that we could safely house 60 percent of Columbia College and Engineering undergraduates in our residence halls, today we have concluded that we must drastically scale back the number of students we can accommodate in residence on campus, thereby limiting residential-style living only to Columbia College and SEAS undergraduates who must be present on campus due to personal or academic circumstances.”
The Morningside Heights business community looks forward to the influx of students returning to campus each year as it boosts their local economy. This was especially so this year. The area surrounding the campus has many bars and student friendly establishments which university members have always patronized.
The website BISNOW interviewed local business owners who must adjust to this recent change of plans. The Hungarian Pastry Shop, located at 1030 Amsterdam Ave, said that the news “shook the morale of the business community,” which was relying on the students to help make up for the losses incurred from COVID-19.
Like many other parts of the city, the community fears that some businesses will shut down forever, or run out of runway to make it until things pick back up. In areas like Morningside Heights, stores depend on students coming back, which is another blow to an already difficult situation.
Even students who will be doing online classes from “home” will not likely be staying in the Morningside area, which is concerning for real estate owners in the area. Because classes are online, students may opt to live elsewhere in the city.
Some shop owners are more optimistic than others. In BISNOW’s interview, the pastry shop owner said “in a family-owned business, the old-timers always say, ‘Whatever you go through, just ask me because we’ve been through it, we’ve been through it all’.”
But even he admitted that this pandemic is nothing like what he’s seen in the past, and not everyone is so optimistic things will turn around so quickly. In his statement, President Bollinger wrote that “even if one is, as I am inclined to be, optimistic about getting all this behind us, we must assume we will be living with a significant degree of uncertainty for quite some time.”
One can rest assured that an institution like Columbia will be back in action eventually with students eager to visit and patronize the local community. In the meantime, it would be great to remember to shop local to help businesses make it to the other side until all students are able to return.
Nevermind the business community, the residents will be dealing with less people on the street and more opportunity to be crime victims
As a Morningsider, I am concerned for our local businesses, but also understand the real apprehensions by many community members about students and faculty coming to to the neighborhood, in some cases from locations that have recently experienced COVID spikes.
A major part of our neighborhood’s character and quality of life is defined by local businesses and we cherish our local shops, like Hungarian, V&T, Janoff’s, and many others.
As a local business owner myself (though one I operate from home), I feel we need to develop a business association for the neighborhood. This could help propel local patronage and develop the mass needed to seek other remedies.
Thanks for reporting on this.
I thought that that is what the community wanted. That’s at least what his letter said.
Funny, last week everyone in the neighborhood was complaining they didn’t want all the students coming back to spread corona, now this week they are complaining there are no students around to spend money in stores and restaurants. Which is it? I guess the neighborhood just loves to complain about Columbia.
@Rick—they’re changing their mind as much as the CDC and WHO.
There is no contradiction here. COVID has simply reframed or magnified a lot of existing issues.
Members of the Morningside Heights community have expressed legitimate concerns over the return of students from states where COVID is spiking. Many schools that have opened are seeing increased infections and reversing their decisions.
Along with this comes an awareness that local businesses are suffering.
I’m glad we’re being reminded that different elements of our community are fundamentally linked.
The question is what are going to do to help the local shops, restaurants, and bars? Buy local is a simple answer, but more can be done. That means getting buy-in and hearing from the owners and employees about what they want and need.
That’s what is emerging now in Morningside Heights. It’s a challenge and we need to address it head-on.