"Everywhere I've gone today -- the deli, the store, the restaurant -- it's like Met fans all over Queens are saying the same thing," said Rose, 44.
The delis, liquor store and offices typically are not open once the daylight disappears.
Yet there they were: crowds of people lined up outside local supermarkets and thronging "deli" corner stores.
Recently, and much to his surprise, Mr. Berlind came across this treat of another era on the counter of his local deli-convenience store.
Every coffee shop, bar, deli, restaurant, department store and dry cleaner you ever did business with is gone.
The strip mall houses a dry cleaning business, beauty salon, pizza restaurant, floral shop and deli and grocery store.
They include restaurants, beauty salons, a party-supply shop, storefront churches, a billiards club, delis and stores, like Inka Express, that transfer money and sell plane tickets.
There used to be a mom-and-pop grocery, an ice cream parlor, a German deli, a fruit store and even a toy store.
The newer churches have replaced shops like delis, candy stores and restaurants.
Hundreds of coffee shops, delis, hardware stores, pizza joints, dry cleaners, jewelry bazaars, diners -- the list could go on -- have been paralyzed since Sept. 11.
Most New York delis and stores don't have seating that is comparable to their volume of customers, if they have seating at all.
