Feature: Crowdfunding Provides Hope for Employees of 54 Below and Pangea

As the cabarets of Manhattan approach the one-month mark of being closed due to the current health crisis, the owners of Pangea, Stephen Shanaghan & Arnaldo Caballero, and four staff members at Feinstein's/54 Below, including Nella Vera, Director of Marketing, have taken matters into their own hands in an effort to assist the employees of their establishments to survive in the face of financial devastation. The food/drink/entertainment industry is populated by workers who tend to live paycheck to paycheck, and though there are many who budget their income so that they can set money aside in their savings account, as the re-opening date of New York City's nightlife is pushed further into the future, many of these people stay at home under the Shelter In Place mandate, in fear of their ability to pay their rent, bills, and even buy food.

On March 23rd, Misters Caballero and Shanaghan created a Gofundme page so that they would be able to pay their employees during a time when their business brings in no money. Pangea has, for thirty-plus years, been at the center of the downtown nightlife, providing a warm space for New Yorkers to enjoy companionship, fine dining, and exemplary performing arts; an important part of the experience is the relationships that their servers (among whom Arnaldo is frequently seen working) and front of house team have with the clientele. The Pangea ambiance is unique, from the decor to the delicacies, from the camaraderie to the gaiety. It is only what one would expect from Shanaghan and Caballero that they would do all that they can to keep their family of employees cared for during this time of enforced hiatus and keep their doors open for their family of patrons to return to their happy hearth when the city returns to an easier time.

Less than a day ago Ms. Vera and three other staff members of Feinstein's/54 Below took it upon themselves to create a Gofundme page to raise money to support their staff, which goes far beyond the gregarious faces of Dylan Bustamante at the host podium and Cassi Mikat at coat check. 54 Below is one of the biggest and most well-attended venues in the city, with staff behind the bar, in the kitchen, upstairs in the offices, and all throughout the dining room as, like a corps de ballet, they all see to it that their guests have the best night of their week. Many of that 54th Street Ballet Company are performers working their night job and auditioning during the day. Their lives are dependant upon the paycheck from the venue and the tips from the patrons. Now, those lives dependant have become lives suspended, as they are trapped in place with nothing coming in. More content to control destiny than yield to it, Nella Vera determined that her colleagues would be taken care of during the crisis, and that is just what she is doing.

Many gig performers have been hit hard by this period of physical distancing, but many of them have found virtual ways of making a living - online concerts, virtual classes in piano, violin, singing and acting. The employees of food and beverage establishments are seldom well-known enough to offer their teaching services online with any reasonable expectation of obtaining students; some of the employees of these venues aren't even performers, they are career waiters, bartenders, chefs, reservationists, and office clerks. Their considerable concern is to be expected, and their actions at crowdfunding are admirable because crowdfunding has become the way of the current world. Citizens across America have contributed to crowdfunding for the silly, the fun, and the frivolous. They have also helped people in need, time and time again. There is no reason to think that the goodness in peoples' hearts won't prompt them to help out these members of a community much in need. This is that rainy day we've all saved up for.

And it's pretty wet, and getting wetter.

Visit the Pangea Gofundme page HERE

Visit the Feinstein's/54 Below Gofundme page HERE

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