Marble Hill merchants report declining sales, mounting debt during 1 train rehabilitation

With reports of businesses shuttering and others struggling to stay afloat, Bronx Community Board 8 is calling on city officials to provide financial relief to Marble Hill merchants whose livelihoods have been disrupted by prolonged construction along Broadway.

In an Oct. 30 letter to elected officials and city agencies, Constance Barnes, chair of the board’s economic development committee, warned that seven businesses have already closed and at least one more is at risk of shutting down as merchants grapple with declining sales, mounting debt and construction equipment restricting access to their storefronts.

The letter comes as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority continues a multi-year rehabilitation of the elevated 1 train structure between West 225th and West 242nd streets, a 1.2-mile stretch that has not undergone major rehabilitation since 1988. The federally-funded project includes structural steel replacement, abrasive blasting, repainting and concrete restoration, according to the MTA, with work expected to continue into 2028.

According to the MTA’s previously announced plans, access to businesses and properties along Broadway is to be maintained throughout construction, although traffic patterns may change as crews move through work zones.

Barnes said businesses have been left to shoulder the financial consequences without adequate assistance.

“We understand that the construction is necessary; however, a contingency plan of support for these merchants was never established,” Barnes wrote.

For much of the past year, merchants have operated amid construction zones that have narrowed Broadway, eliminated parking spaces and complicated deliveries. Business owners said some customers have started shopping elsewhere as a result.

Among the businesses facing an uncertain future is Rio Furniture, which has operated along Broadway for nearly three decades. Owner Hussein Awawda said sales have declined dramatically since construction began, largely because customers traveling as far as Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and elsewhere can no longer find parking.

Complications with deliveries have also been mounting, with some furniture suppliers reluctant to make deliveries as workers are forced to transport merchandise to trucks sometimes parked blocks away, he said.

Awawda said he has fallen behind on rent and electricity payments despite his landlord granting him additional time, and said he also reduced his three employees’ schedules to just two or three days a week to keep them with a paycheck.

Orlando Kross, owner of Flowers by Zenda on Broadway, said his business has also dropped over the roughly year and a half the work has been underway. With walk-in customers dwindling, he has scaled back the flower shop’s operations, primarily handling online orders while also running a salon upstairs, he said.

Kross, who has worked in the area since 1991, said parking is essential to neighborhood businesses, particularly those that depend on customers making brief stops. Although some parking has recently been restored, Kross said the available spaces remain insufficient.

“It’s just a simple thing. It’s just parking,” Kross said. While he acknowledged the necessity of the repairs, he added, “The construction can’t be done on our expense.”

At Marble Hill Pharmacy, owner Vijay Paghdal also reported a decline in business. He said restrictions on curbside access have made it harder for customers to stop, including those who travel from outside the neighborhood to pick up prescriptions.

Some longtime customers who moved away have continued returning to the pharmacy for medication, he said, but the construction has made those visits increasingly difficult.

The financial pressure has also forced the pharmacy to let one employee go, he said.

“We’re really suffering,” Paghdal said, urging the MTA to complete the work as quickly as possible.

During an Oct. 9 walkthrough with merchants and representatives of the city’s Department of Small Business Services, Barnes said she observed vehicles parked on sidewalks because of the shortage of available curbside spaces.

The Oct. 30 letter calls on small business services to expedite legal assistance to help merchants negotiate outstanding debts, establish payment plans and seek forgiveness of landlord and Con Edison debt.

It also urges elected officials to secure financial assistance for affected businesses, pressure the MTA to accelerate construction and remove equipment from completed sections, and introduce legislation requiring merchant revitalization plans for prolonged construction projects.

In a statement to The Press, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, among those addressed in the letter, said she is “deeply concerned to hear that construction has adversely affected businesses in Marble Hill,” and plans to convene with the community board, elected officials, and city and state agencies to explore possible solutions.

Small business services, meanwhile, said it has worked with local merchants and elected officials since the project started, including through corridor visits and outreach.

On Oct. 19, the agency’s Emergency Response Unit visited 16 businesses along Broadway between West 225th and West 227th streets, providing information about available services.

A small business services spokesperson said the agency remains in contact with the MTA but that the transportation authority operates under the state. The spokesperson also said no legislation has established a grant program specifically providing financial relief under these circumstances.

Instead, small business services has been directing merchants to its NYC Funds Finder, which connects businesses with financing opportunities, and its Commercial Lease Assistance Program, which provides free legal services to commercial tenants negotiating lease terms.

Barnes, however, questioned the effectiveness of offering additional loans to merchants already struggling with debt.

The letter follows an earlier appeal Barnes sent Feb. 2, raising concerns about declining retail activity throughout Community District 8.

Since then, board members have repeatedly met with merchants, documented construction-related disruptions and sought assistance from city agencies.

“We’re too late to catch the people who are already gone,” Barnes said. “But what can we do for these folks who are still stuck?”

The board is requesting a joint meeting with officials and merchants to identify solutions before additional businesses close.

The MTA did not respond to a request for comment by press time.