163rd St and Broadway

A wall scribbled with graffiti is all that is left of the strip of local businesses located on 163rd Street and Broadway. The Dominican “mom-and-pop” restaurant which served the typical arroz con habichuelas y pollo alorno (rice, beans and chicken) lunch for over 40 years, along with the barber shop where hundreds of locals passed through for a haircut, were left with no choice but to close down. Facing the same issue on the block was Sebastian Income Tax and Multiservices Inc., an agency many would use to send money to their native country and file their yearly taxes. Now facing the tough task of starting their businesses all over again, this issue is all too common in the neighborhood due to gentrification. Small business owners who once catered to the people of Washington Heights were forced to relocate after the landlord who bought the new property refused to renew their leases.

One business remains. Fruteria El Buen Camino is the lone fruit market left standing, something even the owner, Thelma Santana, describes as a “miracle.” She recounts how it all happened. “Three years ago, this strip changed landlords, and every couple of months we would get notices saying that our leases would not be renewed.” After multiple meetings between the business owners and Coltown Properties LLC – the new real estate company that bought the strip, her prayers were answered. Santana’s business would remain, while every other local shop on the block would be shut down.

Fruteria El Buen Camino

Jose Campos, owner of Sebastian Income Tax & Multiservices, Inc describes the relocation situation differently.  “We were like little children being bribed with caramel candies” he said, when recounting how the previous landlord told the business owners their leases would be renewed, only to send them letters to vacate the premises within the month after the properties were sold. In 2012, Coltown Properties LLC bought five buildings from the previous landlord for about $31 million dollars, and business owners on the strip quickly saw the changes occurring.

Washington Heights has gone through many changes in the last couple of years due to gentrification. With a rise in the non-hispanic population in the neighborhood, the cost of living is rising; as a result rents are increasing, uprooting locals and forcing them to relocate.

According to the 2010 census, 48.4 percent of the White-householder population is over the $60,000 yearly income range. This is in stark contrast to the Hispanic/Latino population with only 24.3 percent making over that amount, and an average 75.7 percent making under $50,000 in yearly income. Washington Heights has quickly become the new “it” neighborhood, due to the now low crime rate and affordable rent by New York City standards.

Corner where Punta Cana once stood

Punta Cana – The Dominican food restaurant – was paying $7,900 in rent before they closed down, instead of the $5,000 they were accustomed to. “We were told that if we wanted to keep this business, our rent would increase to $9,000 a month. We could barely afford the current rent. Now I’m 80 years old and retired” says Angel Santos, owner of Punta Cana, the last restaurant that was forced to shut down after not finding another spot to relocate to.