Category Archives: Neighborhoods
Protected: Reporters Notes- FiDi (By Lisa Olson)
A Craft Store’s Journey
By Vivian Nunez
The United States was hit by a terrible recession in 2008 and four years later it’s still trying to dig itself out of it. A small craft shop is a testament to how dynamic thinking is an essential part of the solution. Little Shop of Crafts, a craft shop on 94th Street, has managed not only to survive the recession, new competition, and the ever-growing rise in the craft trend, but also put smiles on children’s faces while doing it.
Children enjoy coming into Little Shop, “because it’s fun for them and they get to paint whatever they want,” said Alicia, an eight-year-old frequent customer since the age of three.
The atmosphere at Little Shop of Crafts is welcoming and just messy enough that, whether you are a kid or an adult, getting creative with your painting techniques is justified. Yet, Little Shop of Crafts’ homey feel did not spring up over night. Since its grand opening seven years ago, Joy Patrini, the West Side store’s manager, has guided its growth by standing by one simple rule: “Our motto is lets stick to what we do and do it right,” said Joy.
Despite, craft stores having become a hot commodity in New York City, Little Shop of Crafts does see this as a negative. “There are a lot of craft studios similar to us, but they charge for time and they charge a studio fee, or you have to join, or you have to take a class in order for you to go.” said Joy, “We’re very low key we just want you to come and relax.” Joy grounds herself on Little Shop’s vision and the fact that the first store Herb Goldberg, Little Shop of Crafts owner, opened is still thriving even after 25 years.
Kids and parents alike are able to find a safe haven in Little Shop of Crafts that takes them away from their daily lives. The staff at Little Shop is on constant alert to make sure the customers’ bonding opportunities are seamless. They understand that in “a lot of places the adults either are not satisfied or the children just don’t like going where the parents want to go,” said Dawn, Assistant Manager, but Little Shop “kind of draws right in the middle.”
In addition to bringing happiness to children on a daily basis, Little Shop is also beginning to target adults. As a result of the recession and a decrease from “10 parties a weekend to about 3 parties a weekend, if that,” said Joy, Little Shop has embraced adult evening hours, where adults are able to paint any ceramic in the store alongside a glass of wine. “So Wednesday through Saturday we have adult evening hours and we serve complimentary wine for them,” said Joy. In addition to the wine hours over crafts, adults are also able to rent out the space for their bachelorette parties or bridal showers. Nonetheless, the profit evening hours and other adult parties bring in still does not match the 2,000-5,000 dollars a party commonly rakes in, but it is a steady complement.
The staff at Little Shop of Crafts acknowledges that their biggest roadblock is their lack of publicity and social media marketing initiatives, when compared to competing craft stores. “They just do a lot more PR,” said Joy, “so I guess their name is out there much more than ours so they took a lot of our business.” Little Shop of Crafts is currently working to improve their social media; they now have a Facebook page and are rolling out a Twitter page in the coming week. Despite their embrace of new media, word of mouth might still be their biggest asset.
“I would like to get a little bit more involved with the people passing by and letting them know that we are here,” said Dawn, Little Shop of Crafts Assistant Manager, “Let people know you can come in, relax, and feel like a child again.”
The spirit of Little Shop of Crafts, and the staff that keeps it alive, is not diminished by the amount of publicity a nearby craft store is getting. Neither is it diminished by how the recession has made people “scared to spend money on birthday parties,” said Joy. The staff powers on with their faces painted and smocks on, quaintly resembling the lined ceramic figurines standing at attention throughout Little Shop.
Steve’s Bagel Shop: For the People, By Steve. by Mayara Guimaraes
by Maya Guimaraes
In a place where you can eat pizza, Chinese, Sushi, Indian, Thai, Italian, and other foods from all around the globe, how about going for a bagel? Escaping an overwhelming range of options might be what gets Steve’s Bagel shop packed everyday.
Open for over 17 years the bagel store is part of the story of the Brooklyn neighborhood, Bay Ridge. The place has survived economic downs, growing competition, and neighborhood diversity. How? “This is a family business, but more importantly It’s my business. If I am doing well, the store does well, but if I am not, then it is in trouble,” said owner Steve Natale
Natale’s belief that the quality of his business depends on himself comes from his personal experience while running the bagel shop alone for all this years. Soon after being invited by the owners of another bagel shop to be a partner, Steve was able to buy his own store and be in charge. “I need to invest all my time here. I need to make sure people feel welcomed, that people will find what they are looking for, and that people will come back. If I don’t do my job, I lose my customers. It is as simple as that,” said Natale
Steve’s Bagels are baked daily by himself. When he was only 17 year-old, he started baking goods with his family and he hasn’t stop since. “We have multigrain egg bagel, fresh baked muffins, double-sided seed bagel, croissants and cold salads. We make everything here,” explained Natale
Natale’s recipe? Undisclosed. “We make everything here. I stated baking when I was 11 year-old. In the morning we do everything fresh for the day. My bagels are the best, and my recipe is a secret.”
The bagel shop stays open seven days a week, from five a.m. to eight p.m. and throughout the day it serves many different people that come in and out of the Bay Ridge subway station, which is right next to the Bagel shop.
While the location has helped the small business survive, it also means that he has to face bigger competition because businesses around the subway area are targeting the same customers as him. “These days everybody serves coffee. Even McDonalds serves breakfast. When I first opened my only competition was the Diners. Now almost everyone on this block is fair competition,” said Natale
The secret of the success, or the endurance, of Steve’s Bagel Shop might be the delicious food. Damon Moses, from New Heaven, Connecticut said he only eats at Steve’s Bagels. “The food is fresh and they cook it the way you want it, when you want it. Most of the guys I work with come here. It’s the best food place in the area,” he said.
The struggles to keep the bagel shop open have been hard, but Natale seems to be able to keep things going. “This is my only source of income. It’s my only job and I am here every day, so I work hard to keep things all right. The cost of the food is high. But I rarely raise my prices. I give more than two eggs on a sandwich, and I give a cup of coffee for free. I am not saying I have cheap products. Nothing here is cheap. My coffee is great, and my cold cuts are the best quality. But unfortunately the only thing some people care is the price of things. So it gets hard.”
Although he says money is not the priority, “I make people’s day because I am in it for the people. I love the people.” Natale things that there is much more he can do to make his store better. “I need to get everybody in this neighborhood inside this store. I do get most people, but not everybody. I should be printing menus, doing catering and more deliveries. I also need to be more diligent about what goes on here.”
The “mama and papa” shop, like Natale calls it, is one of the favorite spots of many seniors in the neighborhood. The little chairs outside the doors invite people to sit down and socialize. The fast-speed service and easy access location also help. “ My dad is crazy, but people love this place,” adds Daryl Natale’s daughter.
“This business starts and ends with me. Everything about this business is me, like any leadership policy. It’s all about the leader, and I know I need to work harder to grow, but right now I am fine with the size of things. Like I said, I’m in it for the people.”
Frank Huang – Flushing Neighborhood Profile/Face by Patrick Chiang
Frank taking care of kids.
Standing at the edge of the three pointer line, he takes a quick breath and shoots. The team cheers as Frank Huang makes another three and they run to their defensive positions. Suddenly a quick pass interception turns the ball over. Eyes focused and ignoring the beading sweat on his forehead, Frank lets out a chuckle as he lets the ball fly.
“Haha come on guys, you’re making it too easy.” laughing as the ball fell through the hoop. Frank is a frequent visitor of this ball court because it’s directly across the street from his employment at Queens Herald Community Corporation. As a pastor and director of the after school Frank is busy but he always finds time to play some ball.
Why basketball specifically? Well Frank is a big sports fan and mostly because of an outreach program at his job. “We have a few basketball teams for the summer and winter where we get the kids from the streets and put them on teams and try to teach them about teamwork.” This year, Frank has already attended multiple games with his teammates in his age bracket.
As we walked to the nearby deli to buy some drinks he told me a bit about himself. He came here from Taiwan when he was nine has lived in Flushing for fifteen years now. Frank thinks of himself to be quite ‘Americanized’ but with the bonus of being able to speak Chinese which works very well in the neighborhood he lives in. “Immigrant life is tough and I know what they have to go through. It’s not easy.” he said.
Frank has always liked children and thinks that our society currently lacks supervision for them. At the same time we have a whole lot of immigrant parents who don’t know the system here so they really have the disadvantage in terms of the education their children gets, and their rights.
“So my heart is to really show those parents and kids that they don’t have to be stuck in that kind of situation and that they can have the same thing as Americans.” He commented after a gulp of water and a sigh.
One thing Frank noted after the basketball game was that many of the immigrants stick to their original language without trying to learn a new language and culture. “I’m kind of disappointed to see many of the immigrants coming here for a brighter future not trying to learn and adapt. When I grew up it was the same thing. The Chinese would speak Chinese in school because they could get by with just Chinese.” Frank mentioned his distaste for inequality and how sometimes people are limiting themselves and not realizing it.
Frank believes in helping others and there are a few families that because of their financial situation couldn’t afford the after school care for their children so Frank with the help of others helped them apply for different kinds of funding and assistance. Even the church has an assistance program that people can apply for.
He earned his BBA in financial marketing with a minor in marketing from City University of New York Baruch College and expected the businessman’s life. But because of how God has affected his life he now views things differently. From there he attended seminary where he learned the beginnings of how to start social work, the biblical principal of doing social work, and god’s teachings. “Social work should go hand in hand with everything that we do so we can show what love and grace is like.”
Allerton-Pelham gardens: Lead/ Draft of Business story
At about 10 o’clock every morning Tony Gaudio raises the metal shutters to his 42 year old business. He walks across the red tiled floors and turns on the lights. As the flickering florescent lights steady it illuminates a sign that reads ‘ no outside food will consumed on these tables.’
Tony Gaudio and 3 of his employees turn on the remainder of the machines and prepare for another day of business inside of Three Boys From Italy Pizzeria.
A landmark to the Allerton-pelham gardens neighborhood, this pizza shop has been located in the same spot since 1970. The longevity of this business is a testament to the quality of the food served there. In a heavy Italian accent Tony gaudio said, ‘ no, I don’t use the facebook, no Twitter. People like the food so they tell people.’ For certain there has been good things mentioned about the business which is constantly busy 7 days a week.
The Beekeeper: as Beesy as a Bee. By Zhanna Kubankina
Life is the flower for which love is the honey.
~ Victor Hugo
A whole variety of vegetables, fruits, pastry, flowers, jams, cheeses, and, of course, honey can be found in Union Square on the days when it transforms into a farmers market.
“No, we did not bring the bees with us”- says a sign right next to Andrew Cotés (41) honey stand, which is covered by bees. There is a number of colored jars, pollen, whole pieces of honeycombs, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax, even soap -everything is fresh and healthy.
Where can a New Yorker find real honey in NYC? One does not need to go anywhere outside the city. The honey is right there: on the rooftops of multiple buildings all around the urban area. Coté has 320 hives total in Connecticut, New York State, and best of all, five boroughs of NYC.
“Beekeeping in the city is different than in the country,” said Andrew. Among the factors that can affect the quality and quantity of the product are the weather conditions, strength and health of the queen, and resources for the bees. You also have to be aware of the diseases that bees can get: different kinds of mites, bacteria, fungi infection, viruses, etc.
For bees to get pollen, Andrew “puts bee hives where other people have flowers already.” These flowers affect the variety of honey, so in order to get buckwheat honey, he finds fields of buckwheat (but this sort of honey can be produced outside city area, where there is space for fields). Among other varieties of honey he has are: blueberry, orchard tree, clover and basswood. One of the most popular is the wildflower, which is basically honey made with pollen of all different kinds of flowers that are available for bees in the area (that are around the beehive) or what the bees can find.
Andrew does not use any chemicals in his work with bees, but he cannot guarantee his produce to be organic, because a bee can fly anywhere up to five kilometers away to get pollen: “You can’t control that. Somebody might spray the flowers, but we do the best that is possible.”
Andrew is a fourth generation beekeeper. He started helping out his family with the business when he was 10 years old. His whole family is involved into the business, “The bees are like my daughters”, -said Andrew. He calls himself the largest single beehive owner in New York City, who was also raised in NYC.
Apart from Union Square, he also sells his produce in Forest Hills, near Columbus Circle. He also took part at New York City Day at the High Line.
Andrew’s honey is well-known; he does not even need a business card or any kind of advertisement. He simply does what he can do best and lets his business speak for itself. “I rely on word of mouth,”- he said-“and I have a website (andrewshoney.com) only because one of my customers made it.”
His customers are all kinds of people: children, grown up, black white, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, in Andrews opinion, “In New York there is no particular anything”.
Natalie Porter, a salesperson (21) says that whipped honey is the most popular one. “Wildflower is also really popular just because it’s kind of a basic one”. Natalie adds that it also depends on the season and on who is buying: “Japanese tourists always buy the tiny bears, like twelve of them. Russian people always buy basswood honey, because they have it in Russia a lot. We have regular customers. They’ll have allergies and they’ll come over and over again.”
Surprisingly, Andrew does not strive to expand the business or to increase sales: “I don’t want my business to grow. I like it like this. I like what I do, I am content and happy. I am not looking to become national.” On the contrary, he says “hopefully, it will be a little smaller. I am not getting younger and I work too much. Seven days a week.” He does not see any competitors in other beekeepers: “A lot of people try to do what I do, but I haven’t noticed any impact.”
Andrew is satisfied with his life: “I can choose what I want to do and I have chosen beekeeping. I am happy to do it. I am not doing it for any other reasons.” As for the future, he is planning “to stay alive and to be a better person.”
Protected: Allerton-Pelham Gardens: Three Boys from Italy Pizza Shop
Longevity and Tradition Help Keep a Family-Run Tavern in Business
By: Teresa Roca
The aroma of pizza and sound of friendly voices welcomes Staten Island residents into an old brick building every night. As they walk through the crowded room, jersey-wearing strangers toast each other with beers in response to the sports game, long-time friends reminisce on their past, and families of all ages strive to create new memories.
This is a typical night at Lee’s Tavern, a pub that has been in business since 1940.
“My husband lived two blocks down and he always came here,” said Catherine Palemine, owner of Lee’s Tavern. “The original owner, Leroy Moresco, wanted to get out of the business and his family wasn’t interested, my husband was.”
After years of working for Moresco, Diego Palemine became owner of Lee’s Tavern in 1969. His wife and their son Diego Palemine took over the tavern after his untimely death in 1986.
By keeping the traditions that strengthened Lee’s Tavern as a business, the Palemine family adds their own touches to continue the longevity and reputation of this tavern that has been a second home to local residents for over 70 years.
“We try to add a few things when we can,” said Diego Palemine. “We were the first place that anyone could remember having satellite television so guests could watch different games. We added more beer taps and a few more toppings to our pizza.”
Despite these changes, the family makes sure to hold onto the old-fashioned appearance and family-based core of the tavern that made this establishment a favorite among locals.
“We just came up with buffalo calamari. We take the same products we already have and put a different twist on it so you are not necessarily ordering something new,” said Diego Palemine. “I think one of the best compliments I get is when somebody comes in and says, ‘I haven’t been here in 30 years and it still looks the same.’”
One long-standing tradition the Palemine family continues to offer is their well-known thin crust pizza. The family prides themselves on the quality, and reasonable prices of $10 for a large pie and $5.75 for a small pie.
“People are looking to save their money and get the most out of their dollar,” said Diego Palemine. “They come here where they can feed a family of four for $30 or $40.”
Although the struggling economy has actually helped the business because islanders opt for the tavern’s low prices, the increase of water, electricity and food products has caused Lee’s Tavern to increase their prices when necessary.
“It’s getting tougher as prices are going higher,” said Diego Palemine. “We use about 600 to 700 pounds of flour to make dough and 700 to 800 pounds of cheese a week. When you add those up by the year, it’s a big number. “But we try to hold onto our prices for as long as we can,” added Catherine Palemine.
Located in the Dongan Hills area of Staten Island, Lee’s Tavern is surrounded by reputable bars and pizzerias. Although many of these businesses rely on word of mouth and their well-established reputation to stay successful, they still need to compete for newcomers.
Nunzio’s Pizzeria and Restaurant is located a few blocks from Lee’s Tavern. Open since 1942, they believe that they have the best pizza on the island, as many islanders compliment them on their bread-like dough and distinguishable tomato sauce.
“A lot of people come in and try to compare us to Lee’s Tavern. They always tell us that our pizza is better,” said Nunzio’s worker Nick Goldstein. “We have been around for 60 years, that reputation helps us out a lot. We have people come from all over that say they come here just for our pizza.”
Like Nunzio’s, Lee’s Tavern does not offer specials to customers on meals and drinks, compensating with their low prices and generous portions. The tavern also refuses to advertise in papers, through social media, or with a sign outside the building.
“We really haven’t had to do much to be honest with you,” said Diego Palemine. “Great grandparents came, grandparents came, and parents came, now the kids and grandchildren come. It’s a generation place. It is all word of mouth. Not having a sign outside just adds to the allure of people finding it and wanting to find it.”
With an increasing amount of bars closing in the area, they must distinguish themselves from one another in order to ensure business.
“Lee’s is known for pizza and we are known for having the best hamburgers,” said Mike Pace, a waiter at the Grant City Tavern. “We also offer certain specials on drinks and we have mixed drinks.” These are deals and specialties Lee’s Tavern does not offer.
In the last 15 years, the Palemine family has witnessed a major turnover in the neighborhood, as Hispanic minorities are moving in and locals are moving out. Thankfully, the Cheers-like atmosphere they have worked hard to build and maintain allows their bar to feel as if the neighborhood never changed.
“Customers now are coming from farther than they were,” said Diego Palemine. “A few years ago, they were coming from a five-block radius, now you have people coming from the other side of the island, or places like Jersey or Brooklyn.”
Diego and Catherine Palemine hope to make some changes to the tavern that will increase business such as adding more televisions, installing Wi-Fi connection and extending the kitchen. Until then, the Palentine family continues to build the reputation that was established for them by Moresco and the late Diego Palemine.
“Even though it’s a tavern, we have all age groups in here,” said Catherine Palemine. “This bar is family oriented and we try to keep it that way.”
Step inside Lee’s Tavern and find out why this is the East Shore of Staten Island’s go-to spot for locals.