City Closes More Willets Points Businesses

NEW YORK—As the brand-new Citi Field is abuzz after the Mets' home opener Monday night, small business owners at Willets Points are under siege. In the past two weeks, over a dozen businesses have been closed by the City in what seems like a blitz attack to make way for new retail area to accompany the stadium.

To protest the forced closings and to urge Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make good on the plan to relocate the industrial operations in the area, the Urban Justice Center and a gathering of local business owners and workers held a press conference outside of the stadium.

“The City has failed to negotiate with the businesses of Willets Point,” said Wayne Mahlke, a spokesperson for New York State Senator Hiram Monserratte. In the past two weeks, 18 Willets Point businesses were closed, he said.

Left Hanging

The plan for the new Willets Point retail district, as approved by the City Council, involves negotiating with owners to sell their property and then a place to which they can relocate their operations. Approximately 250 businesses, most of which are in the auto repair and junkyard industries, will need to be moved.

According to the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), which is leading redevelopment plans, site acquisition and relocation should be underway now and into the summer in order to raze the site in 2010. So far, no concrete relocation plans have been made clear to business owners.

Seventy-year-old Roman Zak owns seven garages on Willets Point Boulevard that house 13 auto repair businesses. He found out two weeks ago that they had been slapped with vacate orders from the City. “I was in Florida when the tenants called,” he said. “They said there were cars inside but they couldn't get in—the doors were locked shut.” Zak said that the City had never approached him to buy his property. If it had, though, he said he would be happy to sell.

The Department of Buildings cited “structural stability compromised due to illegally framed roof” as the reason to close one of Zak's garages on Willets Point Blvd. Prior to that, the garage's last violation or complaint was in 2002.

“The timing is questionable,” said Edward W. De Barbieri of the Urban Justice Center of the City's sudden attention to Willets Point.

The $3 billion Willets Point redevelopment plan is meant to clean up the environmental hazards in the area, and bring in retail and entertainment spaces, a hotel, the first convention center outside of Manhattan, thousands of residential units, and parks.