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Efforts to Adapt Start to Pay Off for City’s Small Businesses
Posted on 02. Dec, 2010 by Emily Lavin.
In his 40 years as owner of Jib Lanes bowling alley, John LaSpina has seen several recessions come and go. But the most recent economic downturn was the toughest one yet. In an effort to drum up business, LaSpina began frequenting the stores and restaurants near his five bowling alleys in Queens, Brooklyn and on […]
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Fines Plague Restaurants as They Try to Make the Grade
Posted on 01. Nov, 2010 by Emily Lavin.
Betty Cooney does not hide her disdain for the health inspectors who evaluate the restaurants in her neighborhood. She can rattle off a list of violations they’ve cited that she finds unfair, like the restaurant owner fined because he took off his hat as he walked through the kitchen to the bathroom, or the one […]
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No Holiday Cheer for Hunts Point Small Businesses
Posted on 15. Oct, 2010 by Emily Lavin.
Trinidad Morales stands behind the counter at Fabco Shoes, watching two customers browse the store. “Most of the people that come in here now, they come in and look, they don’t buy,” said Morales, who manages the store on Southern Boulevard in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. As the holiday shopping season […]
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Proposed Bill Misses Mark, Green Cleaners Say
Posted on 02. Oct, 2010 by Emily Lavin.
Richard Aviles has spent years greening his dry cleaning business, Bridge Cleaners, in Brooklyn Heights. He implemented programs to recycle water, solvent and hangers. “Every possible way that we can reduce our footprint, we do,” Aviles said. A whole section of the company’s Web site is dedicated to detailing their environmentally friendly moves in order […]
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Small Businesses Still Feeling Recession’s Effects
Posted on 17. Sep, 2010 by Emily Lavin.
New York City’s economic outlook may be brighter, but not everyone is celebrating the news. For Toni Abinanti, business is still just plain bad. “I don’t know who they’re asking when they say the economy’s getting better, but it’s not small business owners like me,” said Abinanti, who owns Rudy’s Pastry Shop in Ridgewood, Queens. […]
