Manhattan: Small Businesses In Harlem Take A Big Hit
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To many, talk of the recession might just mean a bunch of numbers, percentages or falling stock prices, but in the neighborhoods of New York City, its effects are very real. NY1's Rebecca Spitz filed the following report on how the recession is hitting home in Harlem. One shuttered store after another along 125th Street means only one thing: Harlem is being hit hard by the recession.
Many businesses have packed up for good, others moved to more viable locations.
While there are stores still open for business, those merchants say things are very slow.
"I've been here 25 years, but nothing's worse than now," said Lisa Min of Harlem Star Gift.
Lisa Min says there are fewer shoppers in her store because there are fewer places to go on her block.
According to the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, the recession has cost people their disposable income and those who have it, do not always want to spend it.
"Customers pay a visit. They look, they say 'ok, I'm going to come back when I have money,'" said Ricky Ilias of Oseeka Electronics. "We try our best to keep them here, to keep our prices so low, so low even sometimes we sell the things at our cost price but still, people have no money."
To document the scope of recession-related problems, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce took a picture of every shuttered storefront in the area it serves, from 96th to 168th Streets, First Avenue to Broadway
"We have already documented over 638 businesses that are absolutely closed, shuttered, doors locked," said Harlem Chamber of Commerce President Lloyd Williams. "That, of course does not take into consideration all of the businesses on the second, third, and fourth floor that we cannot photograph."
Given those numbers, Williams estimates 35 percent of all existing small businesses in the greater Harlem area will be closed by the end of the month.
As a result of the massive closures, many stores are cutting prices, adding services, and planning carefully to stay afloat.
"We've got 40 percent off," said a salesman from Harlem Furniture. "We've got recession prices, baby."
"At the end of December, I called a meeting with my designers, said 'Listen, it's going to get really, really tight, it's going to be an extremely challenging year, and what we need to do is actually plan out how we're going to weather this storm together,'" explained Princess Jenkins of the Brownstone Boutique.
The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a summit on how to support small businesses in early August.
A small business fair is scheduled 2 weeks later:
"Harlem will survive, but the question is survive for whom and who will be the beneficiaries?" said Williams.
As with the recession, only time will tell.