This video is the first in a series of videos about long standing commercial tenants being faced with 300% rent increases from the New York City Housing Authority. Many are opting to close down their shops in response. Other videos in the series include a barber shop owner and a boutique owner. All of the business owners feel that they have been targeted because they are African American and because of the change of the demographics in Harlem.
more about “Fred’s Hardware being evicted “, posted with vodpod
Advertisement
Posted in: Business/Finance
Anonymous
September 2, 2008
i could tell from the video he wasn’t the best businessman. The place looks junked up…the type of place I would turn on my heels to walk out of if I happened to stumble into it. I avoid those types of businesses. But, as someone else mentioned, if dude can make the rent payment each month AND he has customers (serving the community) then what is the problem? After all, the rent is going the to NYCHA. I disagree that he is pimping the city though. Who would want to service the community that he is serving? If he is willingly doing this and the residents see nothing wrong with going to his junk store then why fix what ain’t broke? Not like there is a Home Depot or even a Costco down the street.
black small biz owner
September 1, 2008
valid points whitey & i agree. part of what comes with owning a business is being mindful to forecast and project operating costs – for a store front business your very lease is job #1 and it’s your responsibility to have certainty going 2+ years in advance – not to be complacent and reliant on a low cost space from the city – you cannot build your business model around this city perk…. then point and focus blame away from you when the perk, the false metric you benefited from has ended – furthermore i am familiar with this business, i’ve been there, this retail business, just take a look at it from the video, the place is a mess, poorly organized, i cannot believe this store has a clue on efficient inventory management practices, etc.
the poor and non-existent business practices clearly run pervasively throughout all aspects of this business, any wonder their taking the posture they are now?
this business owner should have had a B and a C plan, reader to pull the trigger 12 & 18 Months ago. i know similar business that enjoyed such a perk (City Landlord) and had the same fate – however they knew it in advance and found store front space within the block, down the block, where ever, etc. and many downsized in floor space, shock of all shock. again, this particular retailer complaining, go by his store, it’s poorly organized in every way.
in my travels to Hong Kong & Tokyo i’ve seen some pretty efficient uses of retail store front space by hardware stores, heck, in NYC you can find hardware stores that efficiently use space – this fellow above?….my opinion is he can take his current inventory and fit it in about 1/3 of the current space very easily. c’mon, we’ve all seen hardware stores in basements of brownstones in Harlem, I know of several that make use of not too expensive retail space, even today, compared to sidewalk level retail space.
the problem? entitlement mentality, a sense of immunity to reality. it’s the old Harlem mindset. Harlem Project dwellers have situated their lifestyle to be reliant, expectant, and actually demand a right to Government Housing at $200 and $300 a month with Free Electricity on some of the most expensive real estate in America. The notion of being priced out of Manhattan, something we all must contend with? They are immune to. Go to any Aparment Complex in Manhattan of 250+ units and every weekend somebody is moving. Go to any Projects and you NEVER see a Moving Van. Why is that?
This fellow above? He built a business model on a City perk and is assuming entitlement to enjoy that perk forever. Classic Harlem mindset. “Immunize me from real life, Fiscal Responsibility, etc.
Okay – now that I have soundly illustrated how pathetic this fellow is…let me wear another cap. I say he’s got a point, as fucked up as his business model and lack of business accumen is.
NYC gives Billionaires Like George Steinbrenner a myriad of tax breaks and fiscal perks on his business model. A business model that gives locals the high paying jobs of selling peanuts and crackerjacks. If the City said no to Steinbrenner and the Mets for that matter, those people are not going anywhere? Threats to move to NJ are baseless, screw ‘em, let’em move. The point is White MONEY pimps NYC left and right, some form of corporate welfare, sometime they promise well paying jobs and never deliver, sometimes that promise and then layoff THOUSANDS, Be it Lehman, Goldman Sachs, Merril Lynch – This city gives all sorts of tax breaks and perks, pure corporate welfare in some form or fashion all over the place. And if they screw up? GOVERNMENT BAIL OUT is ready to secure White Power Money.
For this reason I don’t give a fuck if the project dwellers and guys like this guy above in their tiny but visible way successfully pimp the city too!
New York City is a rat race, you get over where you can, ethics be damned. Hell, Charles Rangel does not give a F about discplacing people who long ago needed Rent Stab apartments when he had 4 back when Lenox Terrace was giving out Rent Stab apartments, know one really cares about anyone in this city, you simply get over where you can.
whitey small biz owner
September 1, 2008
I’m sure they’ve voted for a congressman who might have some space for them…seriously, do they know that Harlem is still a part of the USA? This unfortunate business owner has been hit with a significant rent increase and as a fellow small business owner I am sympathetic. I know what it is like to see costs run to the point of insolvency. However, I don’t understand the mindset; the city is to blame, whitey is to blame, what am I to do? Hey I know, attempt to pass the cost off to whitey! There’s a novel approach. Instead of being racist, try to capitalize. Oh wait that would require being a capitalist, some intestinal fortitude and a lot of hard work. Ah hell with that let’s trade votes for more handouts and hold a protest, look how far that’s brought our community to date.