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16 n e w h a v e n B I Z | S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m COLLEGE TOWN BLUES online sales only for a time before fully reopening in June. Since then, if he gets half of his normal busi- ness, it's a good day, he said. "Business has been a fraction of what it ordinarily would be, and it will be good to get closer to normal," Burton said. "Summers are slower anyway, but things have been pretty glacial." Jeremy Cobden, co-owner of Campus Customs in New Haven, sells Yale memorabilia such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and board games. According to Cobden, they lost business from students leaving early, and from not having summer courses or events. "Any business in the area is prob- ably seeing a 60 to 80 percent re- duction," Cobden said. "With more students coming back in the fall, it will help, but I don't see anything getting back completely to normal until the end of the year." Indeed even as students return to the city this fall there likely won't be as many pupils as usual. e American Council on Education predicts U.S. college enrollment will be down 15% this school year due to the pandemic. Even still, Cobden is optimistic "the city will start to flourish again." His store had about 10 people browsing on a weekday in August, and Cobden said people are feeling eager to get out aer being cooped up for so long. "It's not totally dead, and we have been doing online sales, and people have ordered merchandise for gi packets for online meetings," Cobden said. Slowly getting back to normal Area colleges primarily have hy- brid in-person and online learning planned for the coming months. On July 1, Yale University's lead- ership announced it would bring graduate and professional school students and a por- tion of the under- graduate population back to campus for the fall semester. e plan is for most Yale College courses to be taught remote- ly. Graduate and professional schools will offer differ- ent combinations of in-person and remote teaching. Lauren Zucker, Yale University's associate vice president for New Haven affairs and university proper- ties, said most, if not all, local restaurants and retailers feel the impact of the pandemic on their business. Zucker said the school is working closely with many downtown merchants to help them, such as by providing rent abatement and deferrals for tenants in Yale-owned buildings and coordinating special promotions to attract customers. Patrick Dilger, director of in- tegrated communications and mar- keting for SCSU, said it is offering a mix of on-ground, online and hybrid classes this fall. SCSU students traditionally have used shuttle services to patronize downtown New Haven establish- ments, and regularly visit cafes and restaurants in the Westville neigh- borhood near campus, he said. Albertus Magnus College is planning a hybrid model of face- to-face and online classes for the fall, and the University of New Haven in West Haven had also advised students that some courses would be offered in hybrid or flex formats to adhere to social distanc- ing requirements. Evelyn Gard, associate dean of public affairs at Gateway Commu- nity College, said some students returned this summer, with labs for nursing programs and man- ufacturing training, for example. For the fall semester, Gateway is offering different options with the aim of reducing student on-cam- pus capacity to 50 percent, such as offering courses online. Some classes are hybrid, with different people coming to campus on different days. Before COVID-19, when school was in regular session, Gateway's students oen frequented city restaurants with quicker dining options, while staff oen opted for eating at the city's sit-down eater- ies, according to Gard. "I am sure our absence has been felt," Gard said. "It has been tough for the businesses, but I think the community will rally." Michael Piscitelli, New Haven's interim economic development ad- ministrator, shared Gard's optimism about the future. However, he urged the community to patronize local establishments to help them get through the crisis. "e city's economic founda- tion remains very strong due, in part, to the meaningful work and innovation going on at both Yale University and in our innovation sector," Piscitelli said. "at said, the absence of students and ongoing travel restrictions are impacting many local businesses, which is why we are strongly encouraging buy-local efforts and extra support for our business community until the pandemic is behind us." More people working from home has also negatively impacted city businesses, said Garrett Sheehan, president and CEO of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Com- merce, but some college students returning to campus this fall will help. "It's not going to be business as usual, but it's more potential eco- nomic activity," Sheehan said. "New Haven is open for business and if we can all continue to do our part to stop the spread of the virus, that's going to help businesses survive this." n Grey Matter Books on York Street. Campus Customs in New Haven, which sells Yale memorabilia such as clothing, is among the city's businesses that have seen a drop in customers. Continued from Page 15 PHOTO/MICHELLE TUCCITTO SULLO PHOTO/MICHELLE TUCCITTO SULLO

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