Parking, competition plague Kingsbridge shopkeepers

RON SOOKAR has plenty to sell at his store on Broadway, but he says his aisles are too often empty. Photo by Joshua Bright

Where are the customers?

By Manny Grossman

The word on the street in the Kingsbridge shopping district is that business is down - way down. But nobody knows exactly why. Some say parking woes are to blame. Others cite lack of support from the city or competition from national retailers like Target in Marble Hill.

Cesar Tedesco, who owns Bari Pizza on Broadway just north of West 231st Street says his in-store business is down about 20 percent from last year. He cites the "hundreds of new parking meters," as a factor. "There are meters on 232nd and 234th that nobody ever uses. People used to park there and do their shopping in a relaxed way."

Yonkers has instituted "beautification zones" in its shopping districts and Mr. Tedesco feels the idea should be brought south.

"They changed the lights, they put in seats, they invested money into the area," he explained.

"Here, we pay taxes and the city only comes in to take our money," he said, adding that "ticket agents are a problem."

Mr. Tedesco said that a disabled man with a handicap placard who double parked outside his store received a ticket immediately, even though ticket agents saw the man was handicapped.

"Money is all the city wants," he complained.

Mr. Tedesco said he has been able to make up some of his lost business by expanding catering and delivery, but he says his foot traffic should be a lot more than it is.

His beliefs are shared by Ron Sookar, who owns R&S discount store just next door.

He says his business is down at least 20 percent from last year as well. "There are a number of problems," Mr. Sookar said. He, too, says parking meters deter customers from coming to his store and says the price is too high. "It used to be half an hour on the meters, now it's 20 minutes."

"The meter maids are ridiculous, too," he continued, "Tickets are $115 for people who double park [and they are working on a quota system because] they're always out here at the end of the month, especially." He says that they never listen to reason and never give people breaks.

He sees Target as a factor, as well. "The big box stores basically give merchandise away pricewise," he said. Plus, they can offer free parking.

"The biggest thing though is the general economy," he added. "After people buy their basic necessities, they have very little left" to shop in his store.

George Kambouris, who owns Broadway Pizza and Pasta as well as Goldmine coffee shop across the street, agrees. "People don't have enough money. They're always broke," he says. "The economy is bad."

Mr. Kambouris' stores rely mainly on foot traffic, so he doesn't share his neighbors' issues with parking meters or ticket agents. He cited the proliferation of coffee shops and on-street hot dog vendors as factors cutting into his business.

Katherine Broihier, executive director of the Kingsbridge Business Improvement District, is sympathetic to the plight of the storeowners, and agreed with some of their assertions. However, she added that "there are a lot of variables."

"I will grant everyone that parking is troublesome, and that ticket agents have been quite aggressive," she said. But she feels the parking meters, if anything, are a force for potential good. The idea behind the meters, she said, is to increase the turnover of cars in the area. In either case, she says that "90 percent of the traffic is foot traffic," not auto traffic.

She added that a lot of people who take up metered parking in front of stores are the store managers and employees who feed the meter all day. "The streets are there for people to shop and then leave," she said.

Has Target had an effect? "I think so, absolutely," she said. "That Target is getting awards for being one of the top Target stores in the country. The lines are unbelievable," she added.

Ms. Broihier also pointed to the towing of cars from the Staples parking lot as a factor. "I think this has affected these merchants. People did like to park for free."

But "Staples will never stop towing cars," she said, "It's private property and Staples needs the parking."

Pointing out that IHOP is planning a big remodeling and renovation, Ms. Broihier believes that "changing demographics, the merchandise itself and the opening of Target are a bigger part" of the pressure on small merchants than meters and ticket agents.

"We're looking into reaching out to get a different mix of businesses. The thing is to give people a better mix," she said.

READER COMMENTS

10/15 - I noticed that the owner of Garden Gourmet didn't complain about business. 
I don't have a car so parking is not an issue for me.  If you do have a car, why shop locally?  It makes sense to drive to a shopping mall where you don't have to worry about being ticketed.

This is part of the October 11, 2007 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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