My proposal for a story is about a block on Main Street, Queens. There are about ten small businesses that currently occupy the store fronts of this block. There is a pizza shop on one corner, and a dance ballroom on the other, in between are a range of stores, including a grocery and candy shop. However, this block is plagued by signs proclaiming “For Rent” and the like. Most businesses close just after they hang up their sign. In the past year a bakery, Thai restaurant, and paper goods store have closed. Seemingly, there is no correlation between each of these stores shutting down.
In this article, I would interview one of the grocers and the lady who owns the candy shop to see if there is a reason for the demise of all these businesses, those that were only open for a week, or one that has been open for years. It might really be a bad luck block, or maybe the recession is finally sinking it’s teeth into this community.
I would tag this article to the Daily News Local section, since Kew Gardens Hills is listed there, and there are no stories in that section as of now. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/your_neighborhood/community_reports/index.html?DataType=1&State=NY&nhood=Kew%20Gardens%20Hills