Category Archives: Profiles

Valdez Enterprises: Serving the Washington Heights Community For Over 20 Years

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Latin music blares from the local bodegas and taxis that surround Valdez Enterprises, Inc. on 161st Street and Broadway in Washington Heights. Inside, Jose Valdez greets those who enter with a smile and inviting hug, never forgetting to ask them how they’re doing since he last saw them. As someone who immigrated to this country from the Dominican Republic, Mr. Valdez knows what it’s like to build a business from the ground up and work endlessly in order to reach that “American Dream.”

Jose Valdez traveled from the Dominican Republic to Washington Heights in 1985, a neighborhood that offered low rents for businesses and apartments, as well as a predominantly Hispanic culture. He recalls meeting friends on Broadway, often referred to as “la Calle Duarte,” a central street in the Dominican Republic where you could find everything from discount clothing, to food and electrical supplies. “Washington Heights helped me transition to America, it felt like home,” he said. In this neighborhood, Mr. Valdez interacted with people who spoke in his same accent, came from the Dominican Republic, and shared the same culture.

Three years later, 1988, Jose Valdez launched Valdez Enterprises, Inc. as a multiservice agency, offering accounting, immigration, travel and personal/business tax services. Since its founding, Valdez has seen the drastic changes to the area and has had to adapt his business to the “new” Washington Heights.

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Valdez Enterprises, Inc. in Washington Heights

There is now a more diverse Hispanic-American community including Central and Southern Americans, as well as a rise in the American population, running from West 155th Street to West 204th Street. What was once a cultural hub for Dominicans and other Hispanics immigrating to this country has decreased by 12.6% in the last ten years, while the American Non-Hispanic population has increased by 18.4%. According to the last District 12 census conducted in 2010, the Hispanic population in Washington Heights has decreased by approximately 19,438 people, as opposed to the Non-Hispanic population, which has increased by more than 5,200 people. This has led to rent hikes for both local businesses and apartments since there are now residents with a greater income residing in the neighborhood. Mr. Valdez is no stranger to these changes, as he has seen them right before his eyes. “I believe the reason why so many of us Hispanics have left Washington Heights is because there is simply not enough income coming into these small businesses, yet the rents continue to increase. This area used to be very affordable to all the minorities that resided here. Now, you have someone making $350 to $500 dollars a week in salary, yet they have to pay rent for a $1500 dollar apartment that is only worth about $600 rent at the end of the month, it’s simply not fair.”

What was once overlooked as a part of New York City is being completely affected by the looming threat of gentrification. As a more American population moves to Washington Heights, the Hispanic population is leaving. According to City-Data statistics, the median income in 2013 was $39,310. In this neighborhood, 27.6% of the population lives below poverty level, yet rents continue to increase in the area. Local business owners are no longer catering to the same customers; new cultures along with new services are needed.

Valdez Enterprises has had to adapt to these service changes occurring in the neighborhood. “Services that we offered before don’t exist anymore: airline tickets, long distance telephone services, my car insurance provider license which I returned to the State, fields that are very much technology based now…I have tried to change my business and use the highest technology out there to offer the best services to my clients that I can.” As a local business owner, Mr. Valdez recounts many instances when business took an unexpected turn, such as the economic crisis around 2008, which resulted in many local businesses shutting down.

Once thing that Mr. Valdez knows will always be needed – accounting services. “I believe that is what has held my agency open for so many years, the fact that local businesses need someone to keep their finances in order and guide them in opening their new establishment…but if rents continue to rise and local businesses keep shutting down, we will be at a loss here. I don’t provide services for chain businesses, we provide the small businesses with that.”

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  Mr. Jose Valdez, at work in his office at Valdez Enterprises, Inc.

Mr. Valdez believes the key to helping regulate this drastic change in demographics lies in commercial rent control. He recounts a recent experience with a client who closed their corporation at his agency the previous week: “The landlord told them- your lease is up today, I want you out next week. Rent regulation would not allow these things to happen.” Mr. Valdez points out that he can no longer identify the businesses surrounding his agency; they come and go every couple of years. “Dominican restaurants are now being replaced with upscale barber shops and juice bars… the new generation will never get the chance to experience this neighborhood as it once was.”

However, Mr. Valdez remains hopeful that Valdez Enterprises, Inc. will live on for another twenty years. “I have been preparing my personnel for the day when I retire, and I believe we have the skill set to continue and live on through multiple generations.” Rosy Alas, a senior accountant and insurance broker at the agency states that Valdez Enterprises “will continue providing key services to the local businesses in the area, maintaining customer service and adapting to technological changes.” One thing is for sure, Mr. Valdez is determined to remain a one-stop place for local businesses, and he has no plans to take a break anytime soon.

Richard Green The man behind the actions

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Richard Green The man behind the actions

By Shantelle Flavien

The humbling factor about CEO Richard Green is found in his Head-quarters Crown Heights Youth Collective. The humbleness isn’t the simplicity of the building, a three story renovated house used as a refuge for youths in the community. Nor is it the beauty of the mural that embellishes the side of the building that he and other artists worked on for a year, coupled with the uninhibited natural grace of the community garden. The humbling factor is found in the multiple awards and plaques he has achieved.

Crown Heights Youth collective mural

Crown Heights Youth collective mural

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The interior walls tell a story of Richard Green and his life. They are covered in paintings from fellow artists some by former students, pictures of him and his family, past youths that visited Crown Heights collective, portraits of heroes, like Fredric Douglass and Malcom X relics of the past like framed stamps downstairs in the studio space he has reserved for students.

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Lining the walls as one walks up the stairs there are framed photos of various meetings with prominent figures. Such Desmond Tutu from South Africa, after he worked diligently to get Nelson Mandela to come to America, him meeting with three mayors Dinkins, Bloomberg and Giuliani, Celebrities like actress and civil rights activist Betty Shabazz Malcom X’s widow and Stevie Wonder famed pianist and musician. To name a few.

Letter signed by Bill Clinton

Letter signed by Bill Clinton

There are framed letters from organizations commending him on his civic acts and commitment to his community. He even has letters written and signed by three presidents Regan, Clinton and Bush. Green however is not filled with arrogance of his accomplishments. They are constant reminders of the pat and help him to refocus for the future.

“My goal is to catch up to Martin Luther King.” He said with a laugh. “King has about 400 awards. I don’t even have half of that.”

Unless you either know of his reputation or know him personally Green would not be noticed by the common passerby. Clothed in jeans and a simple T-Shirt, brightly colored while still holding a level of casual refinedness about him, and silver dreads coupled with a handsome well-kept beard.

Articles paint him being the civil activist and a key player in the part of healing from the Crown heights riot in August 1991. When a station wagon driven by Yosef Lifsh, hit another car sending it to the pedestrian sidewalk at 8:21 p.m. Monday, August 19, 1991. The station wagon crushed two black children, 7-year old cousins Gavin and Angela Cato. A rumor spread quickly that the Hatzolah ambulance crew ignored the dying black children in favor of treating the Jewish men. The rumor ignited violence from black youths that lasted three days.

“In 1991 when this Crown Heights issue broke. I was in the right place at the right time. Talk about a perfect storm. He said “All the things that were being put out there we were there to put out the correct concise information. That’s all I did from the very beginning”

Green has a serious aura about him. A fixed gaze and determined stride in his walk for a 67 year old man. It is a face that has seen war, and experienced grief. Green served as a marine in the Vietnam War. He left California on April 3rd 1968 right after his and many other of his fellow classmate’s graduation.

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“Serving in Vietnam made me realize the importance of humanity and the importance of the needs of people that would be more accented to me being in a war zone. Seeing that people are at the very ebb of their existence. How any and every little help and opportunity that was offered to them they was so well appreciated because they stayed at the bottom every day for so long and so often so that made me feel a way about it an when we came home.”

Since then over the past 20 years racial tension has continued its slow but gradual healing process. So much so that it adds to another community hurdle welcoming newcomers. Newcomers are mostly the young business owners ranging from the ages of 25-30. Most of the Newcomers are from Manhattan looking for a place to start a business or just have a place to call home.

To Green however, it’s not the people he sees as a threat to the dwindling longtime residents of the community but more so the apartments that out-price them.

“A lot of these apartments have come to out-price people. But there are so many other ways to counter that out-pricing.” Green says passionately. He continues, “Rent regulation rules. The catch term now is what? Affordable housing. What is affordable? The bank of attorneys, Black and Latino attorneys who went to college who went to law school because of the struggle we went through. They have to come back give up some time and sit down with a block of people and say ‘Ok here is affordable housing, this is what it looks like and this is how we are going to get you into it.’”

Green Remains hopeful in the times of change. He currently teaches at Medger Evers College. He understands that the times are changing. It doesn’t make him slow down but rather refocus his efforts on what he can do with the time he has. What he can say to his students, which he believes, are the torchbearers for the success of the community. Green, unlike some long-term residents a bit resentful to the change that comes along with newcomers, is not deterred by their presence but welcomes their ideas to improving the neighborhood.

“I saw it when we changed I saw this neighborhood when it was prominently all white. So when it changed, it changed and I lived through it. He said. “Living through it meaning that I was able to say to myself okay what’s going to happen now in the community it’s changing what am I going to do to improve the change? What am I going to do to marry into the new changing demographics? Me personally I see it as a possibility for us to figure things out.”

A Penny on the Sidewalk

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Walking down the decorative streets of Alphabet City many types of people can be seen. There are the struggling artists in their dirty overalls, the cop with a scolding coffee in their hand, the rich woman with her designer purse and tiny dog and the young college crowd bopping about with no real direction. Not every one is so well off. When you take a second from all the surroundings in front of you to look down a person can be seen laying on the ground at almost every corner. A whole other world many of us are fortunate enough to have the pleasure of not understanding.

The homeless have been scattered all over Alphabet City for over a decade now. Colin Cosnell from local bar Percys BBQ and Darts said, “It has always been an issue here. The issue being how do we help these people and get them off the streets. The problem is that most of them get stuck in a ditch and can’t pull themselves out of it”. People all over this neighborhood make an effort to hold soup kitchens and clothing drives, anything to make a difference.

When it comes to defying the odds Penny Lieberman takes the cake. She has long shiny black hair all the way down her back and she stood at Father’s Heart Soup Kitchen on East 11th passing out food with a smile on her face. The place was so packed with hungry people that you could feel the humidity and smell sweat in the air. What makes Penny so happy to be there was because it was not too long ago that she was in that predicament herself. “I feel like coming back here to help where I once ate is a small way for me to give back after being so blessed”, Penny said humbly. She is merely twenty-two years old, but spent two years on the streets.

She grew up on West 165th street with her parents that regularly abused substances. She had a hard life growing up in a shabby walkup apartment where rats were so regular she started to name them. She was neglected by her parents and her home situation became so intolerable she made the decision after completing high school to be on her own. It started off with her hopping from couch-to-couch of her friends and certain acquaintances. Penny looking down said, “Things went downhill from there. Most people didn’t want to genuinely help me. They all expected favors and favors that I couldn’t do for them”. It became so much pressure for her to live with other people that she decided to leave. She felt as though she could not go back to her parents so she made one of the biggest decisions she ever had to make and she went to live on the street.

She moved around a lot to different neighborhoods, but something about Alphabet City kept her there. You could see the fear in her eyes as she talked about how scary certain areas were. A young beautiful girl of her age on the streets has a high risk of danger. She tried different shelters, but she was less harassed being on the street with a hood over her head. Alphabet City was different to her. The people were nice, it wasn’t overly crowded with tourists and she felt like it was as far as she could get from her parents.

Maria Marzigliano, a mentor of Penny’s, said “I remember asking her what her dream was and her answer was priceless”. Penny could not afford the things girls her age had. She used to look at how beautiful they looked walking by and that began her obsession with make up. She became so obsessed that she openly admits that the first thing she ever stole was a lipstick from a drugstore. Not food, not water but yes LIPSTICK! Maria Marzigliano told Penny that if she loved make up so much she should go to school for it. Maria cleaned her up walked her to the Fashion Institute of Technology and helped Penny apply for scholarships, she even paid for her application.

Penny wrote essays at public libraries and would work on projects in Maria’s living room. “While all of this was going I was feeling skeptical that it might not work out. I sat on the steps of the church and saw a penny facing heads up on the sidewalk while I was thinking about it and I knew it was a sign for me”. Thanks to her good grades, but mostly the people she met that helped her along the way, Penny received a full scholarship to attend FIT.

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Penny sitting at her new vanity. She has the quote on the wall for motivation.

Today she is living in her own apartment with two girls that she met from school. She works at Sephora where she is able to not only pay for her apartment, but get a discount on makeup! She regularly goes down to the soup kitchen where she once ate to give back. But her favorite thing to do is go to women’s shelters and give free makeovers with her other classmates. “The looks on their faces when were done with them gives me a satisfaction I can’t get anywhere else. I love making women feel beautiful. You feel like you can conquer the world. If I can do that with a few brushes and some powder, why not?”, Penny said with a smile.

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Penny on her couch holding up her FIT sweatshirt with pride.

Penny has a name that is perfect for her. A penny does not have much financial value, but it is the one currency that has a reputation for being lucky when found heads up on the ground. While Penny had not a dollar to her name for a long period of time, she managed to turn things around and now she is following her dreams and on a path to success. “All I ask is that people reach out and give a helping hand. A few people that didn’t have much themselves did all they could for me and changed my life completely because they gave me a chance. If only we all could do the same.”

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Some of Penny’s makeup collection.

Vincent Lo

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The sun’s rays crack through the window blinds and the family dog barks in excitement for the day. The familiar cry of BEEP BEEP BEEP and within a second THUD hits the off button. The aroma of fresh coffee beans in the morning, threatening shouts of “Time to wake up” shakes the home, mayonnaise slamming into dry pieces of toast, kids running to the car, and the oh so familiar traffic jam of cross island starts off his morning.

Upon entering his Dodge Durango you see stacks of invoices from different buildings, letters addressed to Mr.Vincent Lo, bags of screws, box of tools and keys to buildings littered throughout his car. But just enough space to fit his morning cup of coffee to start his day. The job of a property manager/broker is to oversee the day-to-day building’s operation. While the job of a broker is to sell clients part of the building’s empty space. His place of work is generally rolling down the highway from one building to the other. But if you’re lucky enough to fit into his schedule you might be able to hear his pitch.

“Our company is the managing agent for the property, we have full knowledge of the building, we have full financial information of the building, we are more than well qualified to market and sell within the building, we have a good support staff, we are a part of the multiple listing service, and we keep a list of potential buyers of the past and future.” – Vincent Lo

Growing up in the lower east side of Manhattan, he learned to work hard at a young age. At the early age of thirteen/fourteen he started working at his parent’s restaurant business. He worked from the front of counter to the back of the kitchen. At a young age he already knew the hustle necessary to make a buck.

“Establishing ones reputation takes time and hard work. Back then because there barely was internet I would have to scrounge through the newspapers, and call to find listings of apartments for sale. Trying to co-broke a deal with a broker and make some money. Back when I started I would easily spend up to nine thousand dollars on advertisement space. While now-a-days you can just as easily save that money and post up advertisements on craigslist for free.”

Census.gov shows that the median family income in Queens runs about $64,371. While a majority of families are making $50,000 to $74,000 at 18.2%. What is quite shocking is that families that make $200,000 or more make up 5.1% of Queens. Which could be a reason for so many immigrants in Queens. People are probably moving to United States with money to grow a business or to purchase land and resell it later. Due to a heavy influx of money coming from overseas and China. United States Customs and Border Protection has limited the amount to ten thousand dollars. You are allowed to bring and take up to ten thousand dollars from and to United States at any given time with the need to fill out a “Report of International Transportation of Currency and Monetary Instruments Form.”

Queens has been getting a lot of publicity this past year and according to the Lonely Planet, one of the world’s most successful travel publishers. They have named Queens, New York as number one tourist destination of 2015. Although Queens known for its sports arenas like, the Arthur Ash stadium where the U.S. Open plays, Citi Field where the Mets play. Not only that but Queens is also known for it’s museums like, the Moving Picture Museum, MOMA P.S. 1, the Queens Museum, and food. Queens is built upon the shoulders of immigrants around the world. Some coming from Italy, some coming from Philippines, some coming from Mexico, some coming from Korea, some coming from China. Queens and New York has become a melting pot of the 21st century. In the light of all this positive feedback, there are negative impacts to the people who live in Queens. As stated by MNS, Queens rental Market Report, average rent throughout Queens has increased 2.12% from $2,104.13 in July 2015. A steady trend like that would lead most to view affordable housing as a way to escape the increase of rent in Queens.

Gentrification of New York City really depends on people’s perspective on things. You can either think “Rising real estate prices is doing good for New York City?” or “Are you hurting these people who do not qualify affordable housing.” Pushing them out and end up having the government pay for subsidies and so forth. It really depends on how you see it, whether the glass is half full or half empty.

From a Teacher’s Desk to an Editor’s Office

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Robert Pozarycki’s corner office is not very big, but it is full of personality. Maps of Manhattan and of Bayside, Queens hang from the walls. An MLB poster of American League baseball teams speaks to his love of the sport, while a pen cup emblazoned with the Mets logo declares his devotion to the team. Two photos of his wife and son smile up from his desk.

Of all the personal touches Mr. Pozarycki has added to his office, there is one that could easily get overlooked. At first glance, it appears to be just a blue, glass paperweight set with the seal of Archbishop Molloy High School, which Mr. Pozarycki graduated from in 1998. However, a closer look at the back of it reveals the words, “Excellence in Journalism,” an award granted to students who showed outstanding achievement in Molloy’s journalism class.

Photo Oct 02, 3 44 51 PMIt seems natural, now, that the editor-in-chief of the Queens Courier, the Courier-Sun, and the Ridgewood Times—three of Queens’ top community newspapers—would’ve been recognized for journalistic talent at an early age. At the time, however, Mr. Pozarycki was flummoxed.

“I was like, ‘How did I get this?’” he recounted. Though he had been interested in journalism from a very young age, the outbreak of the first Persian Gulf War dissuaded him from pursuing it as a career for fear that he would be sent to cover a war zone. As he grew older, he began considering a career in education, with the goal of becoming a high school history teacher and even someday a professor.

“I had a lot of great teachers that I learned from at Molloy,” he said. “I thought that going into teaching would be a really fulfilling thing.”

After graduating in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in history from St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, Mr. Pozarycki began a full-time job as a seventh grade teacher at a private school in Queens. This, however, was a far cry from what he had originally wanted to do, and he had a terrible experience.

“I just don’t think I was prepared for it,” he said. “Kids were rather unruly and I had a hard time managing the class. I had a hard time also educating [them] in areas which I was weak in.”

Although dismayed that his contract with the school wasn’t renewed, Mr. Pozarycki continued searching for work in education. In September of 2004, he came across a job advertisement in the Ridgewood Times, which was looking for a part-time reporter. Still interested in writing and reporting, Mr. Pozarycki decided to apply for the position. The same day that he dropped off his resume at the Times’ office, he met with managing editor Bill Mitchell, who gave him a test run reporting on a community meeting.

“The experience itself was great. I had my notebook out, I was there talking to people, getting a feel of what was going on in the community, and I liked it,” Mr. Pozarycki recalled. Mitchell, impressed with the report he turned in, brought him on as a part-time reporter shortly after.

Mr. Pozarycki continued reporting part-time for the next several months, taking on another job in the meantime as a permanent substitute teacher at a Catholic school in Queens. The experience was the same as it had been the first time around, and when Mitchell called him with an assignment on an evening that he stayed at the school for parent-teacher conferences, Mr. Pozarycki says he came to a moment of truth.

“The Yogi Berra-ism, ‘When you come to the fork in the road, take it’? I thought, ‘Okay. I’m doing teaching, it’s not working, I don’t like what I’m doing. But here’s this other job that I really like doing, and it’s part time, but I’m sure I can get something out of this.’”

Mr. Pozarycki finished the school year, and then never looked back. Recalling the award he received in high school for journalism, he says, “I guess it was a sign. I should’ve seen that before.”

In October 2005, John Walthers, the publisher of the Ridgewood Times, offered him a full-time job. In the beginning, Mr. Pozarycki covered just about everything, and learned on the job.

“When I started full-time, I was doing articles in the office, phone interviews, covering meetings at night. If they had a photo event, I was there. If they had a press conference, I ran out. I’ve done block party photos, parades, gone to Memorial Day events and covered those,” he listed. “Then eventually I wound up doing layout—feature sections, sports sections, and eventually the main section. So I was doing practically everything except selling ads. It was a heck of a time.”

Meeting a tight deadline was one of the many challenges Mr. Pozarycki faced in his new job. Building sources was another. It was particularly challenging to build relationships with officers in the New York City Police Department, as they needed to know he could be trusted with sensitive information. He also learned the hard way that city agencies found it easy to brush him off since, in their view, he was just a reporter from a small weekly newspaper.

However, with guidance from Bill Mitchell, John Walthers, and Walthers’ mother Maureen Walthers—who was publisher emeritus—Mr. Pozarycki refined his craft and really established himself as a journalist. As the years passed, he rose through the ranks to senior reporter, then associate editor, and finally, editor-in-chief.

In the decade that Mr. Pozarycki worked there, the Ridgewood Times fell into rough economic circumstances, having been hit hard by the 2008 recession. By 2014, downsizing had reduced the staff to just Mr. Pozarycki and two other reporters; together, they were responsible for writing, editing, and processing every article, caption, and press release. After John Walthers’ sudden death in June 2014, the management of the paper returned to his mother Maureen, who was in her 80s then and unable to keep up with all the changes the paper needed to stay afloat.

In late 2014, Victoria Schneps, President and CEO of Schneps Communications, which owns the Queens Courier, made connections with Ms. Walthers. In January 2015, the announcement was made that the Ridgewood Times would be sold.

“The Schneps have been very good to us. They kept everybody on board,” Mr. Pozarycki said.

After the sale, he remained editor-in-chief of the Ridgewood Times. In February, after the previous editor-in-chief of the Queens Courier left the paper, co-publisher Joshua Schneps approached Mr. Pozarycki with an offer to add the Courier to his editor’s duties.

“I’m not going to mince words; it was overwhelming at first,” Mr. Pozarycki said of his new responsibilities juggling three papers. “It’s a lot of responsibility, but you learn quickly. What made it easier was the fact that we’re a daily online and everything’s done every day. It doesn’t make everything seem so daunting.”

Bob Brennan, associate publisher at the Queens Courier, says that one of Mr. Pozarycki’s challenges has been adapting to having a larger staff among which to delegate responsibilities.

“Rob is used to writing the stories himself, doing a lot of the work himself. [At the Ridgewood Times] he was almost an editor and a reporter at the same time,” said Mr. Brennan. “Now what he has to work on is being a true editor, and pulling back a little bit, and doing less of the work himself, and learning how to delegate and getting his staff to do the work, which he has to oversee.”

“I think he’s working towards that,” Mr. Brennan added. “To be able to run the show and really understand his role as being the person that has to coordinate everything, as opposed to doing the work himself.”

Mr. Pozarycki says he is happy reporting on Queens at the community level, following the neighborhoods, getting to know the borough, and getting a chance to do really good journalism.

“People always tease me, ‘Oh, when are you gonna go to the Daily News? When are you gonna go to the Times?’” he says. “I look at the Daily News or the Post and I open the pages and I see fluff. And then in the margins on the side are all the really important stories. And I feel that in a community paper you’re not marginalized, literally and figuratively. Every story is important and every story gets its own space, everybody gets a chance to speak, and reporters get a chance to report. I like that mentality.”

When asked what quality he looks for in the potential hires he interviews, Mr. Pozarycki immediately answered, “Enthusiasm. That to me is one big trait I look for with people coming in. Obviously, talent comes with it—you can be talented but not have enthusiasm, and it shows. It shows in the work.”

Enthusiasm is something Mr. Pozarycki himself certainly has in abundance. In giving his first impression of his colleague, Mr. Brennan said, “He seemed to be a person who really wanted to grab this opportunity and make the most of it. So I like his enthusiasm for the business. Once you have that good attitude and enthusiasm, the rest is going to come. That’s the most important part. We’re very happy with him and the work he does.”

“I think reporters should not be discouraged by what they hear about print journalism,” Mr. Pozarycki added. “They should be willing to tackle every challenge that comes their way. It’ll make them better for it.”

Neighborhood Profile: Lemon remains King in Corona, Queens

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The famous ice shop in Corona, Lemon Ice King,  has been around since 1964, a time when the area was pre-dominantly Italian. Pete Benfaremo and his father Nicola were its original owners and Vincent Barbaccia, a teenager, was employed behind the counter, serving customers in a traditional uniform: white tee-shirt draped over white pants and a white apron branded by the ice shop’s logo. Barbaccia assisted Benfaremo for some time before beginning to help manage the business and develop other assistants, most notably Michael Zampino.

“We were selling lemon, pistachio and orange. More typical in an Italian taste” said Barbaccia, co-owner of the shop since buying the business from the Benfaremo family in 1993 with Zampino.

Today in Corona, the population has nearly doubled since the 1960’s and race in the community has changed significantly. The area is recognized for being pre-dominantly Hispanic. Statistics from the 2010 census reveal that approximately 74 percent of the community identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino.

Local residents are no longer playing bocce at William F. Moore park on 108tth Street, across from the ice shop. Summers still host older residents on special occasions, gathering together the older Italian community with games of bocce and heated conversations about the Mets. These nights at park, nicknamed “Spaghetti”, bring peak business production for Lemon Ice King, but around the community, one will find more Colombian bakeries and Dominican diners than they will Italian cuisines.

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In the business for over 30 years, Vincent Barbaccia wants to keep the shop authentic to it’s “King” Pete Benfaremo. The gold plate is an original installation, lighting up Corona till 11pm.

The influx of immigrants has translated into a bevy of small businesses in Corona, Queens. Nail salons, wax and thread spas, pizzerias, and barbershops repeated for blocks by different owners yet no business is as specific to a season like that of Mr. Zampino and Mr. Barbaccia. Nonetheless, they offer their authentic Italian desert all year.

For $1.50, customers are granted a scoop of ice, blended with a choice of over 50 flavors, all blended with natural products. Numerous Corona natives admitted to having it as routine as their coffee in the morning.

It has become a landmark in Corona, whether customers are cluttered together after a Mets game on a Sunday evening or parked during the winter months when Barbaccia, Zampino and their team of teenagers dig a trail through the snow for customers to go and make orders at the stand.

Behind the counter, a crop of teenagers no longer dress in traditional apparel, wearing washed-out slim fitting jeans and a t-shirt with the Benfaremo logo, finished off with a baseball cap, sometimes flipped backwards. They still offer service with the same gratitude and are forbidden by the soul of Pete to mix any ice flavors. Nonetheless, customers around the neighborhood love their ices. Adriano Santos, a resident around the neighborhood and a regular at the shop admits that the people working anticipate he is going to order a small lime ice upon arrival. Swearing to Lemon Ice King’s consistent measures to know their clients, Santos said “There is no other place with gourmet ices like this. My grandmother’s flan is the only thing I know that is as good.”

Lemon Ice King is all about maintaining a classic tradition of preparation, routine and delivery; however, they are attuned to the community changes and continue to make different flavors to accommodate them.

Barbaccia and Zampino continue the tradition to hire teens within the community. While there are now a culmination of ethnicities living in the area, these business owners look for respect and good attitude from the teenagers they hire.

Understanding that not all households have parents supportive of the children living in them, Barabaccia likes parents who are actively involved in their child’s work schedule. “You can tell by the respect that these kids have and how they act, the kind of home they are coming from” said Barbaccia. It is a bias he carries from his own experience of being hired at the Lemon Ice King.

Barbaccia admits that the changing community affected his business for a small period of time. According to the city-data statistics, the median household income in Corona is $46,493, putting them below the average household income of New York city. Moreover, these statistics do not take into account the illegal immigrants living in these households. Many residents of the Sherwood apartment complexes know this situation too well. One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted that she has three undocumented people living under her apartment. During bi-annual checkups, she has them stay elsewhere for a week to avoid suspicious activity and keep her rent under control.

Ice carts, often run by Hispanic immigrants who fill the streets of Corona, offer a similar product to Lemon Ice King for a cheaper price. They are famous for carving out ice from their cart and saturating it with concentrated flavors for a lesser price. Many local residents were intrigued by the price for a while.

“We see the change in the past years where they would patronize those carts because they were cheaper but now they realize the quality of our product. For that extra 50 cents or a quarter, they’re getting a choice of 50 flavors. For under 10 dollars you get something for you and the kids,” said Barbaccia.

Christmas King

During the Holiday season, Lemon Ice King stays open, offering their delights and getting into the spirit.

The product is unmatched indeed. All the ices are water-based and made with real fruit. In addition, the business always packs a surplus of ingredients they provide everything on their menu at all times. “We run out of nothing.” says Barbaccia.

In addition, the business continues to increase their menu to accommodate the taste of the community.

“The way the flavor of the neighborhood has changed reflects in the ices that we sell now. We’re selling more tropical flavors. More mango, coconut and piña colada” said Mr. Barbaccia.

Last year, the business introduced an Oreo-cookie and a root beer flavor. Mr. Barbaccia hints that a tropical delight and a tamarind flavored ice are in the works at the request of his customers.

The business has not experienced a drastic change in sales. The bigger challenge the business faces is maintaining the original recipe. Matching a color pigment that has been around for 70 years has proven more difficult for the business than losing any clientele.

The aesthetic of the store strikes the resemblance of the original stand. The pinstripe awning extends itself as shade for customers dripping ice on their hands in the peak of the summer. The gold plate hanging above the storefront is an original installation from when Lemon Ice King first planted themselves in the heart of Corona, shining the number of flavors that increases every couple of years and the Benfaremo logo. Instead of selling themselves short by fixing the crack on the floor or by maximizing their profits by using top line puree over their fruits, the business has stuck to Pete Benfaremo’s script: natural fruit in their ices that are never to be mixed.

“I don’t care if we sell pistachio or chocolate as long as someone is buying it,” said Mr. Barbaccia.

 

“Small Town Man, Big Time Job”

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The business has been around for 80 years and the building was recently renovated in 2012.

The building’s awning reads, “Buckley’s Drug Store and Compounding Center.” Customers enter an old-fashioned pharmacy owned by a man who greets them by name and asks about their day. Puzzled by the word compounding, they learn their medications are made from scratch to tailor their needs. The store, on the tree-lined streets of Englewood, New Jersey, reflects the charm of a family owned business and specialized medication.

A bell rings to signal your arrival when you open the door. Gil Dominguez can be seen filling patient’s prescriptions with sounds of pounding, conversation, and old school music filling the air.

For the last 30 years, 10 hours a day, Mr. Dominguez has successfully run Buckley’s, on Palisades Avenue, with his own personal touch despite the difficulties he faces.

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Dominguez is always seen in his white lab coat and smiling at customers.

From childhood, he has been surrounded by the world of medicine, following in the footsteps of his aunt and father-in-law who owned a pharmacy in Cuba. His father, struggling to pave the way for a prosperous life for his children, embarked on a journey to fulfill his family’s dreams.

“I grew up watching my aunt work and one day I started to ask questions,” he said. “I saw all the great things she could do for her patients and I knew I wanted to do something with a professional license in a business environment.”

With that dream, Dominguez worked in a number of pharmaceutical firms and hospitals until he acquired Buckley’s, where he works with his wife and son. Passing down family values, Dominguez said he hopes “we can be here for another 30 plus years.”

Mixing family with business has presented several challenges in his struggle to survive and remain current.

“My wife takes care of the gift shop and social media publicity while my son assists with compounding medications and patient care,” he said. “Families fight but we only get stronger.”

The key to Dominguez’s success is how he serves his customers in ways chain pharmacies such as Walgreens or the CVS down the street cannot. Although 41 percent of Americans buy their prescriptions at chain stores according to ConsumerReports.org, Dominguez builds his business by accommodating patient’s needs, schedules, and requests, creating an intimate atmosphere not possible among chain stores. In an age where humans are numbers on a computer, or voice-acted recordings, customers appreciate that Dominguez remembers their face and medical history.

“This industry has to be personalized,” he said. People don’t just come to your store because it’s a pharmacy, they come because they have a trust.”

A loyal customer and Englewood resident, Annette Amirian, has been going to Buckley’s for 12 years. She relies on Dominguez to provide her family with prescriptions in a timely fashion.

She said, “I go to Gil because I believe he monitors what types of medications I’m taking and truly cares for my well-being.”

This relationship between patient and pharmacist does not just exist within the Buckley’s building. Dominguez admits to seeing a lot of his customers at the local grocery store down the street.

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Dominguez crushing pills to compound medications.

“Englewood is a close community,” he said. “When I go pick up some milk, it will take me 15 minutes because I bump into patients and start talking.”

Dominguez’s goal is simple: to please patients and monitor their care. Buckley’s specializes in compounding medications to fit patient’s needs in the lab on the second floor. If a patient can’t take an oral medication, he looks for an alternative such as a cream or a suppository to be taken.

A highlight of his job is when Dominguez is able to help someone get a medication that the insurance company refuses to pay for. “Although it is not simple to override a medication that the insurance company didn’t cover,” he said. “When I can, I know I’ve done something good for my patient.”

Dominguez takes the good with the bad as he finds himself struggling with today’s technological advancements that have caused a decline in sales due to online mail orders. Certain prescriptions have a rider available through mail order for maintenance drugs such as blood pressure, asthma, or diabetes medications that can only be filled through a PBM, a pharmacy benefit manager. The idea is to get people to use lower cost mail order services instead of having prescriptions filled at their local drugstores.

“Over the last 15 years, I would say I lost a lot of customers because of this,” he said. “Let’s say a family of four uses mail orders, that’s four patients that I’ve lost.”

His problems all “come down to dollars and cents.” About 10-15 times a day, Dominguez calls insurance companies to make sure he was reimbursed when he was supposed to or calls to receive a prior authorization from a doctor to cover a prescription before he can refill it.

“A simple procedure that takes five minutes can take 30 minutes because of a constant back and forth between doctors and insurance companies,” he said.