A dozen Kingsbridge shops may face eviction soon

By IZANIA GONZALEZ

igonzalez@riverdalepress.com

Twelve small-business owners in Kingsbridge, near the landmark Kingsbridge Armory, which is due to be redeveloped, may face eviction at the end of the month. The shop owners on West Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue have operated without leases as their landlord has reportedly looked to sell the property they share.   

Many of these storefronts, which have been in business   for 20 to 30 years, serving and employing residents of the neighborhood, are facing an uncertain holiday season.

“Our families and our community depend on us,” said Osmer Colindrez, owner of Duo Sports Life Nutrition, one of the 12 shops. “We want to have a conversation with the landlord so that we can come to an agreement with protections and a long-  term solution.”   

According to city finance department records, the landlord, Henry Kessler of First New Kingsbridge LLC, purchased the string of businesses on Jerome Avenue and Kingsbridge Road in 2014.

When reached, Kessler refused to comment about whether he is selling the properties in question.

A rally took place at   the corner of Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue on   Dec. 7,   intended as a call to   action on commercial rent stabilization and ensuring the   merchants’ rights. The tenants are arguing to have   commercial leases  drawn up, which,   a  ccording to New York City law, would   stabilize their rents, give them the chance to purchase property insurance, and  guarantee   an operational time frame. 

The businesses in danger of losing their storefronts are:

• Liberty Taxes,   10 W. Kingsbridge Road

• New Capitol,   2 W. Kingsbridge Road

• Kingsbridge Barbershop,   4 W. Kingsbridge Road

• Kings Gift Shop,   6 W. Kingsbridge Road

• S & R Food Market,   8 W. Kingsbridge Road

• New Top Design Nails,   12 W. Kingsbridge Road

• Duo Sports Life Nutrition,   2659 Jerome Ave.

• Lucy’s Flower Shop,   2655 Jerome Ave.

• La Duena Envios Money Transfer,   2655 Jerome Ave.

• Pace Copy Center,   2651 Jerome Ave.

• New Kingsbridge African Market,   2649 Jerome Ave.

• Double Dragon Chinese Restaurant,   2647 Jerome Ave.

Evy Viruet is a member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, and previously worked as the organization’s small-  business organizer. In that   role  , her main focus became the businesses   on Kingsbridge Road, whose owners   often called her for guidance on   their management, Viruet said.

“The first person who I had a serious one-on-one with was Lucy Saavedra,” Viruet says. Saavedra, of Lucy’s Flower Shop, had little   knowledge of what was going on at the other   the small businesses in her area, and   was focused on selling   flowers and feeding her family.

“I saw Lucy as a fierce mom, someone that cared about community and someone that really wanted to thrive in her business,” Viruet   added.

The flower shop, which   Saavedra has owned for   28 years, is one of th  e  storefronts   facing eviction.

Her son, Jorge Corona, quit his job in 2022 to help his mother run her business.

“I grew up here —  this is like a second home,” Corona said   of the shop. “There were times when we’d sleep here, and we wouldn’t go home, because she had long nights and a lot of work.”

His mother, Corona said,   came to the United States   from her hometown of Puebla, Mexico, in 1985 to pursue   her dream of becoming a florist. She ran the shop while raising   Jorge and his five siblings  . According to Corona, people have come to his mother asking her to sell the business a number of times,    but she “never gave up and never sold this spot.”

The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition   is helping to unite   the community so merchants like   Saavedra can protect themselves. The coalition’s   mission is to   fight for racial and economic justice in the borough  , creating a neighborhood   where “  our people collectively own and govern the assets and political processes in our community.”  Founded in 1974, the group is     committed to direct action and investing in the   community to help give its residents   a sense of power.

The ideal long-term resolution for the   endangered merchants would be   “a pathway for small businesses to own their properties to ensure the stability of our neighborhoods,”   Matthew Shore, a Kingsbridge resident who   helps   NWBCCC with   community outreach efforts, said.

“We wouldn’  t be here if we had stronger legal protections for small businesses, including commercial rent stabilization and protections for businesses unable to obtain leases from their abusive landlords,” Shore said, adding that   the   issue is not just   leases, but also a level of respect. Without the protection of leases, he said, storefront   occupants “can’t qualify for financial support —   you can’t get loans or credit.”   

Last   January,   Mayor Eric Adams announced a $75 million public/private small-  business loan fund meant to help revive mom-and-pop shops in the wake of the pandemic  . Few   Kingsbridge small-  business owners were   eligible to receive a portion of this revival loan because they do not have   leases.

The news that   Kessler may   sell   the properties comes amid   extensive   progress on the $200 million Kingsbridge Armory redevlopment project. The project began last year,   when community organizers joined forces with federal and state officials to hold workshops and community engagement sessions focusing on   how the armory space should be utilized.

Among t  he project’s guiding principles is the desire   to “create jobs and wealth for existing workers and communities,” “maximize community ownership” and “grow a regenerative local economy.”

Many mom-and-pop shops, however, see   this community advancement   as a threat,   fearing that their businesses will be bought out by   bigger names   supported by   higher-  earnings newcomers the redone armory hopes to attract  .

According to Juan Nunez, lead Kingsbridge Armory Organizer at the NWBCCC, t  he property is being marketed for a gut development and for the potential buildability of the site —   not with the sustainability of the existing commercial tenants in mind.”

The back-and-forth between landlords and tenants in the area isn’t new, and dates back to 2014. When a previous unsuccessful effort to redevelop   the a  rmory was announced,   Kessler said   he would   double   his   tenants’ rents. That   caused enough of an uproar in the community that the rent hikes   did not happen, but he refused to sign long-  term leases. Then, in 2019, Kessler, according to Nunez,       “listed the property for sale on a real estate site, specifying that ‘existing tenants are month to month.’”

Since then, tenants have seen rent increases and complained of overcharges   and landlord neglect through denial of basic repairs and services.

“Not only are small businesses undeniably critical to the economic health of our communities, employing 49.8 percent of all New York City workers,” City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez stated, “t  hey are also a critical part of the social fabric of our neighborhoods.

A 2019 survey by the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development found that 60 percent of Kingsbridge merchants were operating on a month-to-month basis.    

“Imagine living in your home and you don’  t know if you’  re going to get evicted next month or two months from now,” said Pierina Sanchez. “H  ow are you supposed to make decisions?   

That’s exactly how our businesses are here.”

Borough President Vanessa Gibson made it clear at last week’s   rally that the goal right now is to work with   landlords, “whether it’s a lease or agreement,” to ensure that   commercial tenants have some protection under   new ownership.

“I want small businesses that have been here to be able to stay,” Gibson said. “We are trying to maintain the character and the value that Kingsbridge has always been about.”

“We are people, we are merchants —   without our jobs,     without our services.     All of Kingsbridge Road will be just empty land,” said   Cristian Ramos, vice president of the Kingsbridge Merchants Association, a local business owner   and a Kingsbridge resident.

The shouts at   the rally mad  e clear that   local business owners who have survived and thrived in this community for years are anxious about the impending change. New landlords provide them with no safety, and with the Kingsbridge Armory project underway, the looming threat is big-  box stores and chain restaurants   replacing their hard-earned storefronts.