By Ivan Pereira
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Farmers Boulevard may be one of southeast Queens’ top locations for small businesses, but it is not as popular as some other commercial areas in Queens, such as Steinway Street or Bell Boulevard, according to Isa Abdur-Rahman, the director of the Farmers Boulevard Community Development Corp.
On Friday, the civic head led members of the Queens Economic Development Corp. and City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) on an informational tour to study the area and see how to spruce it up.
“What it does is that it assesses the quality of life in the area,” Abdur-Rahman said. “If there is an abundance of one type of store than another, there is a quality-of-life issue.”
There are some 110 storefronts on the boulevard between Brinkerhoff and Murdock avenues, according to Ricardi Calixte, the program coordinator for Neighborhood Economic Development for the Queens EDC.
In a study conducted during the end of 2006, the Queens EDC found there were only 10 store vacancies and several similar-themed stores, such as bodegas, beauty salons and take-out restaurants, according to Calixte.
Although the area is doing well despite the recession, it needs to attract a wider variety of businesses to the open spaces and a new type of neighborhood promotion in order to fully capitalize on its commercial draw, the program coordinator said.
“We see a lot of potential,” Calixte said.
During the tour, the EDC members and Comrie visited several businesses, including Farmers Pizzeria on 111th Street. The eatery’s owner, Ismael Maldonado, has been serving slices in the area for the last eight years and earlier this year was able to buy the property for his pizza shop.
Maldonado, who used to have his shop on Rockaway Boulevard, said the area is a great place to work, but gave the officials some suggestions on how to make it better.
“Nighttime gets really dark. I would like to see more lights,” he said.
Abdur-Rahman said his civic was created to give small business owners a voice for their concerns. He said many store owners requested the walking tour because they wanted the city’s top brass to see the area first-hand.
“For us as a nonprofit we have no influence for what the city can do, but we can act as a conduit for the small business owners who have no time,” he said.
Comrie said he would work with the Queens EDC to find ways to bring Farmers Boulevard into a brighter limelight through new marketing campaigns and new, big businesses.
“We need to make this area more viable,” the councilman said.
