Highland Falls outside USMA is really hurting re: Covid

2020HD

2020HD

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Jan 10, 2016
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Sunday my wife and I took a nice autumn drive back up to the hamlet of Highland Falls, just outside the Thayer Gate into West Point. We’re about 30 minutes away on the other side of the Hudson and had frequented a little Mexican place over the four years my son attended there, and we thought we’d visit again.

The impact of this virus (or really the reaction to it) on a town that really only exists because of the Military Academy itself was visceral. Probably 25% of storefronts were shuttered up with Public Notice billboards. On a beautiful Fall Sunday the place was a ghost town. The cadets had never returned to West Point last semester after March due to COVID, and since reporting back in August they have not been allowed off Post. Nor can parents or visitors step foot on the base. The Division 1 sports are either canceled, severely curtailed, or like Army football have no spectators allowed. The entire revenue stream of this town has cratered.

The proprietor of the restaurant we visited nearly lost it when we politely asked how she was doing. Their family has been there 40 years, they’ve now blown through any nest egg / rainy day funds they were ever able to set aside, and are contemplating closing their doors. With winter coming, no one is going to eat outside on the sidewalk. Take out doesn’t begin to cover the rent. She said if she knew how long these rules would persist she would have closed for good back in March before draining their life’s savings to stay open and pay rent and salaries etc for this long.

There are real lives and real small businesses out there that are getting ground into dust. These folks can’t “work from home”.
Extremely upsetting to see it first-person. If you’re in the area, think about patronizing them.
 
I hope you’re not talking about American Burrito. It’s the only decent restaurant close to post. :(
 
It's been a while since we've been up to Highland Falls but their plight is not uncommon in the NY/NJ/CT area. The lockdowns have not been so severe in some part of the country but Highland Falls businesses had to deal with months of closure right alongside the rest of New York but then when most other towns were partially opened up, just about all of their customers were gone.
 
VelveteenR said:
I hope you’re not talking about American Burrito. It’s the only decent restaurant close to post. :(
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AB is alive and well. They deliver to post. My guess is the above mentioned spot is the little white restaurant on the right as you head out of Highland Falls - La Hacienda maybe? I had lunch there when my now plebe was doing his overnight visit late Feb ‘20 right before everything shut down
 
2020HD said:
Sunday my wife and I took a nice autumn drive back up to the hamlet of Highland Falls, just outside the Thayer Gate into West Point. We’re about 30 minutes away on the other side of the Hudson and had frequented a little Mexican place over the four years my son attended there, and we thought we’d visit again.

The impact of this virus (or really the reaction to it) on a town that really only exists because of the Military Academy itself was visceral. Probably 25% of storefronts were shuttered up with Public Notice billboards. On a beautiful Fall Sunday the place was a ghost town. The cadets had never returned to West Point last semester after March due to COVID, and since reporting back in August they have not been allowed off Post. Nor can parents or visitors step foot on the base. The Division 1 sports are either canceled, severely curtailed, or like Army football have no spectators allowed. The entire revenue stream of this town has cratered.

The proprietor of the restaurant we visited nearly lost it when we politely asked how she was doing. Their family has been there 40 years, they’ve now blown through any nest egg / rainy day funds they were ever able to set aside, and are contemplating closing their doors. With winter coming, no one is going to eat outside on the sidewalk. Take out doesn’t begin to cover the rent. She said if she knew how long these rules would persist she would have closed for good back in March before draining their life’s savings to stay open and pay rent and salaries etc for this long.

There are real lives and real small businesses out there that are getting ground into dust. These folks can’t “work from home”.
Extremely upsetting to see it first-person. If you’re in the area, think about patronizing them.
Click to expand...
Every word is true. Very sad to see. Very good people in HF looking after our Cadets.
 
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