Norwood News

Bainbridge Avenue merchants affected by a devastating Halloween morning blaze can take heart in the experiences of another set of Bronx business owners who were left homeless earlier this year.

On March 22, a three-alarm fire sent five established Westchester Square businesses and one future business bursting into flames.

Now, more than seven months later, the affected businesses are settling into new locations and coming to terms with the fire, which police say was a case of arson by a local man.

“Fortunately for us, because we have a strong merchants association, we have a lot of connection to the city agencies and a good rapport with city officials that once the tragedy happened, we more or less had all of them at our beck and call,” said Joe Regina, the secretary of the Association of Merchants and Business Professionals of Westchester Square.

After the fire, the Merchants Association brought together the emergency unit from the Department of Small Business Services and other city agencies, including the Department of Buildings, to sit down and help each individual business find their bearings.

These agencies, along with pro bono lawyers, helped obtain $1,000 emergency grants from the city for each business and helped the five previously existing businesses relocate.

Unfortunately, the business that was under construction—a Latin nightclub—did not have insurance and the owner did not have enough savings to start a new business.

The other five businesses have all relocated in the neighborhood, and two of these businesses still remain in Westchester Square. On the Square Flowers moved into another flower shop across the street from their burned store and Peking House, a Chinese restaurant, moved just down Tremont Avenue in Westchester Square.

“Right away, for all the employees, [the Merchants Association] offered help for unemployment, emergency funds,” said Joanna Tozaj, the owner of On the Square Flowers, “They are the ones that made all of the connections.”

As for the site of the fire, Regina said the owner, Chatham Management Company, who rented out the business units, intends to rebuild and use the space for commercial properties. However, Chatham said they do not know what kind of tenants they will have in the future.

Unfortunately, for the affected Bainbridge businesses, there is no merchants association in place, though the local community board organized a similar meeting with city and state agencies.

It’s still early, but so far, only one of the businesses left homeless in the Bainbridge blaze—L & M European Mini Market—has relocated. The market is now located just a couple of blocks down the road, at 371 E. 204th St.

Another affected business, the salon Betty’s Place, plans to temporarily relocate across the street, but the owner did not know when she would be able to open her new shop. And many of the owner’s store supplies, such as hairdryers, were recently stolen from her old, fire-damaged location.