HARLEM: 2504 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10030. 646-964-5062 Website: Calabar Gallery and Instagram page (please follow us here too).
REOPENING PREPARATION and Happy Juneteenth to you.
By Monday, New York City is hoping to be open phase 2 but over the weekend, lots of people hung outside bars in droves without masks and in China, they closed schools today. Our stores have remained closed but we are reviewing phase 3 rules as a guide to where we might see significant possibilities.
Ftom phrase 2 and 3 requirements, we see guidelines that indicate space preparations for cleaning surfaces, staff and customers rules like the use of masks and 25 to 50% occupancies. One of our staff asked the most important question:
Will be using the air-conditioning this summer given that Covid-19 is airborne?
New York in the summer reaches 90 degrees, so, imagine not turning on our A/C. Much to plan, simple things are no longer so simple.
Only about 2% of New Yorkers have been tested in the New York City area. Our staff has done the testing and now, we are beginning discussions about having our customers do the same too. Yes, what a question to ask:
Have you taken the two Covid tests: regular and antibody tests?
Employers and staff have now become "Covid-19 monitors" based on a 7 page NY Forward Plan. The 7 page document is detailed. We are not in disagreement but it is something we did not image for our daily experiences so, we decided, no to opening for phase 1, 2 and maybe 3. Maybe, we will be open by phase 4.
Again, we will remain closed and will reopen in stages, one location at a time. This week, we will go into the Harlem location to see what needs to be removed. We left in Spring, now it's almost summer. We are targeting Harlem for our first location to open.
We will begin by planting flowers in our pots outside. We got pictures from some of our customers about the "junk" was left in our planters.
In Bed Stuy, we are thankful to Ena McPherson, a neighbor who looked after our plants there. We will add an order to the Farm share as her gift to say thank you. It's the smallest things that remind you about what community really is.
In this newsletter, we have 5 things to talk about (it's a repeat, intentional to focus on planning our reopening):
1. African Fashion Clothing
2. Father's Day Items
3. Art Available
4. Advertising with us
5. The Wellness Pivot
At Calabar Gallery, we have shown the work of DOBA AFOLABI, see here. Other works available for sale. Please contact us at info@calabargallery.com if you are interested in buying a piece.
4. ADVERTISE WITH US
This newsletter goes to 10,500 people and several people requested that we open it up to about 2 to 3 advertisers every week. If you are interested, please email at info@calabargallery.com.
5. THE WELLNESS PIVOT
Time during this pandemic was productive because of food choices: immune boosting, health focuses and returning to exercising. As a result, we joined the development of a new show:
The Wellness Pivot: Food, Health and Fitness Show explores mind, body, and spirit as a process of natural healthy living focused on food, exercise and health ways for a more holistic lifestyle.
