Flatbush businesses say fewer customers, higher costs are squeezing their bottom line
A recent survey of 30 businesses by the Flatbush Junction BID found 70% reported a drop in foot traffic and 90% reported higher costs.
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Small business owners along Flatbush Avenue say fewer customers are walking through their doors, while the cost of keeping those doors open continues to rise.
A recent survey of 30 businesses by the Flatbush Junction BID found 70% reported a drop in foot traffic and 90% reported higher costs. Half also reported customers expressing concerns about immigration enforcement.
For Natasha Augustin, the slowdown is visible inside One Price Dry Cleaners, the business she and her husband, Sony, have owned for 14 years.
“The traffic is not a large flow,” Augustin said. “Now it’s between medium and small.”
Augustin said racks that were once packed with customers’ clothing now have plenty of empty space. She believes concerns about ICE enforcement, along with uncertainty surrounding Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, are keeping some customers home.
Other business owners told News 12 they are seeing something similar.
“This reminds me of COVID when there was very little traffic on Flatbush,” said Phil Miller, who owns a hardware store. “I think a lot of people have been scared to come out.”
Jacintha Morgan-Belin said her flower shop has also slowed down. She said Haitian customers have long been among her biggest supporters.
“I don’t see my people,” Morgan-Belin said.
Businesses also face higher costs
Fewer customers are only part of the squeeze.
The BID survey found half of the businesses had raised prices. Augustin said higher costs for supplies have forced her dry cleaner to charge customers more. The price of cleaning one item, for example, increased from $4.50 to $5.
The New York Immigration Coalition says it has heard concerns about increased immigration enforcement in communities across the city.
Murad Awawdeh, the group's president and CEO, encouraged immigrants to know their rights, seek trusted legal help if needed and make plans for their families.
“It’s better to prepare than to be caught flat-footed,” Awawdeh said.
NYIC recommends three steps:
Know your rights.
Get trusted legal help.
Make a family preparedness plan.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the suggestion that immigration enforcement should be blamed for the slowdown. A DHS spokesperson said people who are in the country legally and are not breaking other laws have “nothing to fear.” The agency said ICE is focused on people charged with or convicted of crimes.
The Flatbush Junction survey reflects the experiences reported by the 30 businesses surveyed and does not establish that immigration enforcement caused the decline in foot traffic.
For the owners News 12 spoke with, however, the concern is immediate.
“I need the customers. That’s what we need,” Morgan-Belin said. “Whatever we’re making goes right back to the bills.”
