Photo by Josh Novikoff.
The sound of ping pong balls echo as a group of furloughed government employees gather around a TV, watching West Wing reruns and snacking on John Boehner’s head.
Not Boehner’s literal head, of course, but clementines from a basket labeled “John Boehner,” because they are round and orange, like the Speaker of the House’s head. The furloughed federal workers are gathered at Sixth & I in Chinatown, where the historic synagogue and community center has organized “Shutdown Central,” a sort of “adult daycare” for “nonessential” furloughed government employees to come hang out and pass the time until the government shutdown is over and they can return to work.
Photo by Josh Novikoff.
“I’m trying to keep a positive attitude about it, just because that’s the kind of person I am,” says Daniel, a government employee who works with documents management for one of the main departments within the government (Daniel did not want to disclose his last name or full job title for work reasons). “But to be honest, I’m losing about $250 a day when I’m not working. That’s basically a car payment. When I think about it that way, there’s so much cooler stuff that I could be doing. That’s a lot of money that I’m losing out on,” Daniel says.
That frustration seemed to be the underlying sentiment at Sixth & I’s “Shutdown Central.” While the dozen or so furloughed feds that were socializing and taking in the synagogue’s activities—which includes ping pong, West Wing reruns, board games, GOP-themed snacks, and even a “panda cam”—to help blow off steam, most were still pretty upset with Congress.
“It’s really frustrating not knowing what’s happening, or when I’m going to get paid again,” Daniel also says. “It’s also frustrating because once I get back to work, if I ever do, there’s going to be so much paperwork, so much stuff to do.” Indeed, with so many unanswered questions about the future of their work, it’s hard for many federal employees to enjoy the time off.
Photo by Josh Novikoff.
“It’s very frustrating, it’s annoying,” says John Menaster, a Senior Analyst for the Government Accountability Office, “But at some point you just gotta shrug your shoulders and say ‘I can’t control any of this.’ It’s sort of like complaining about the weather at this point.” Though despite the frustration, Menaster—like most of those seeking refuge at Sixth & I’s “Shutdown Central”—is grateful for what the Synagogue is doing to help make things a little easier. “You just gotta do what you can and hold out. That’s why I think an event like this is so great, where you can just come and commiserate with friends and hang out and relax with other people that were furloughed instead of hanging out by yourself at home.”
Hannah Orenstein, communications manager for Sixth & I, says they came up with the idea for “Shutdown Central” at the last minute. “Our Executive Director, Esther Foer, came in yesterday morning and said ‘The government’s going to shut down, what can we do for all of these employees that don’t have anywhere to go?'” Orenstein says that, while the shutdown is quite a bummer for federal employees, “it’s a great opportunity to build community.” Many of Sixth & I’s regulars at their programs, classes, and Shabbot services are government employees, and they want to “make sure they have a place to go.”
Orenstein says that, unlike the federal government, they’ll remain open for business as long as is needed: “Until an agreement is reached, we’ll be here everyday. Luckily, our calendar was clear from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. everyday.”
