By Caroline Lewis

Council Member Diana Reyna listens to a South Street Seaport small business owner talk about rebuilding her business after Hurricane Sandy. Photo by Aaron Adler

Made Fresh Daily, an all-natural café in the once-bustling South Street Seaport neighborhood, enjoyed a buzzing lunch hour on a recent Monday afternoon, seven weeks after Hurricane Sandy left a high-water mark halfway up the large window that looks out on historic Front Street. 
The triumphant café is the first to be profiled for the “Support NYC Small Businesses” campaign, centered around an interactive map of shops that are “Back in Business,” created in partnership with Yelp. But the view from owner Jacqueline Goewey’s café window is still bleak. Fourteen of her Front Street neighbors are shuttered.

“Our furniture was completely tossed around like rag dolls. There was nothing to repair,” said Fernando Dallorso, the owner of Stella Restaurant on Front Street.

The old landmark buildings in the Seaport District housed more than 100 small businesses before the storm: coffee shops, pet grooming, restaurants, retail stores. Many of their fates remain uncertain. Before he can think about reopening, Dallorso needs to appeal denied insurance claims and to figure out when—if—he will be able to return to his old building. He is banding together with other small business owners in the neighborhood, not just to seek legal and financial support, but also to bring back the concentration of diverse shops that make the Seaport an attraction.

“This has set the neighborhood 10 years back into history,” Dallorso said. “I don’t want to be the one guy, if I’m lucky and get power, to be standing in 10 blocks that are decimated.”

Last year, Lower Manhattan was one of New York’s fastest-growing communities, according to a report by New York City Small Business Services, but many residents and corporate employees have moved their homes and offices following the storm. Robert LaValva hosts a seasonal open-air market in the Seaport with 150 small entrepreneurs.

“It’s the small, independent local businesses that make [this neighborhood] an interesting place to come to and spend time in, so we very much see the whole neighborhood as interconnected,” he said.

“We’re really hoping that whatever solutions are worked out by various levels of government are very small-business focused,” LaValva said.

Mayor Bloomberg announced multiple initiatives to speed along the recovery process for small businesses this month, including individualized help for those in Business Recovery Zones like the Seaport District.

“Let’s get to the bottom of why we’ve been closed so long, why we’re going to continue to be closed,” said Amanda Byron, owner of a dog spa called the Salty Paw. “I can’t afford to take out any more loans. I’ve been in this neighborhood 17 years. I went through 9/11. Lots of us are paying back those loans from 9/11. We need grants.”

Low-interest loans are available from both city and federal agencies for small businesses impacted by the storm. So far, SBS has issued $4.2 million in loans to small businesses and has hundreds of applications pending. The loans must be paid back within two years, but the mayor also created a fund to offer matching grants of up to $10,000.

Grants with no strings attached are harder to come by. The Downtown Alliance closed the application window for its Back to Business Grant after being flooded with applications. The organization awarded the first grants to Lower Manhattan businesses this week and set aside $120,000 in deferred grants to be held for six applicants in South Street Seaport until they reopen.
Byron submitted her application, but said that even if she gets a grant from the Downtown Alliance, she may not be able to reopen by their April 30, 2013, deadline.

“We need grants that can help us rebuild,” Byron said.

Matthew Young, who helps to administer federal loans, now shares an office with SBS in order to streamline the loan application process.

“Some people are waiting on their insurance, they’re waiting on their grant money. We don’t need all that other information to get the process started,” Young said. “Get that application in so we can see if we can approve that loan.”

Dallorso is skeptical.

“None of us who already lost an average of three, four, five hundred thousand dollars, wants to get any further in debt by borrowing any money,” Dallorso said. “And the application, no matter what they say, is not that easy. It’s not that simple and it’s depending on your own capability to repay. I just lost my shop, I just lost my income,” Dallorso said. “What is my capability to repay? I have no idea.”

His uncertainty has a lot to do with the state of the building to which he is trying to return.

“Besides destroying all the retail spaces, [Hurricane Sandy] also destroyed all the building’s mechanical systems, meaning the heating, the cooling, the electrical systems, the light safety, all the pumps,” explained Jordan Barowitz, a representative of the Durst Fetner development company, which owns the property where Stella Restaurant and a dozen or so other businesses were located.

“They’re old buildings. It’s a landmark project, they’re 200 years old.”

In addition to replacing floors and walls, Barowitz said the company plans to install a modern mechanical system that would be more resilient in the case of future disasters; one that would not be located in the basement. He could not yet give a timeline for completing all the work that has to be done.

“There’s also tremendous stress on the contractor and mechanical supply community and that’s making it even more difficult,” said Barowitz.

Mayor Bloomberg and Community Board 1 are pushing the approval of a new development for the undamaged Pier 17, featuring a multi-use glass structure, according to schedule.

“We just want to make sure that it’s done as quickly as possible with as much consideration for the individual businesses as possible,” said Michael Levine, director of planning and land use on Community Board 1.

For small-business owners, time is money.

“It’s great that we can open Wednesday,” said Sara Williams, co-owner of Fresh Salt on Beekman Street. Two days before re-opening, Williams stood amid frantic construction on the still-unfinished bar. Her building owner was able to agree to a rush re-construction job and had some friends who were contractors.

“But we’re going to be in trouble if we can’t get them back with us,” Williams said, looking toward empty storefronts across the street. “They have a whole other host of issues that I feel very lucky that we don’t, but at the same time, we are all together in this area and that’s how people’s perception of us is. We do need them open.”

By Jenna Helwig

Chocolate chips. Vanilla frosting. Rainbow sprinkles. Brownie bites. Coconut flakes. Cookie dough. The mouthwatering toppings that adorn the delectable goodies at Crumbs Bake Shop are so tempting, you just might forget to pick up the kids from daycare!

So who’s behind this culinary sweets craze? Nearly ten years ago, Mia and Jason Bauer helped reinvent the individual dessert, opening the first Crumbs on the Upper West Side in 2003—a time when there were only a few bakeries in the city devoted to cupcakes. Soon, New Yorkers flocked to the homey cupcake haven in search of their oversized cupcakes with mostly cream cheese-based frosting and delectable, edible embellishments. The business quickly took off as the Bauers began dreaming bigger dreams for their burgeoning bakery. Just last year, Crumbs went public and now boasts more than 50 cupcake varieties in 51 locations across the country.

On a warm day earlier this summer, Mia and Jason spoke to us about their smash-success bakery business and their family life with two small children—Annabelle, 4 years old, and Zack, 2. Indulge yourself and read on to find out how Mia and Jason built a business good enough to eat.

You’re living the dream—leaving law and politics (as prior legislative counsel for the New York City Council in the Giuliani Administration) to open a bakery! How did you know you were ready to make the switch?

Mia: I think it was a culmination of a lot of things. I was working … just crazy hours and it occurred to me that … all the fruits of my labor were for someone else’s cause, so to speak. I really wanted to do something that belonged to Jason and me, and we wanted to do something together. There is an energy about our relationship that I knew would translate very well in the business world.

Jason: I grew up in a family beverage distribution business and started working full time in the business after I graduated college. After that was sold in the ’90s, I started a company called Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed consumer products, like Britney Spears bubble gum and ’N SYNC lip balm. After eight years and over 20 products, I was ready for a change and sold the business to start Crumbs with Mia.

What were your expectations when you opened the first Crumbs?
Mia: The goal was to have a neighborhood bakery where I knew everybody and their kids, and I made all their birthday cakes.
Jason: When we started Crumbs, we were just dating. But we knew we had incredible chemistry not only in our personal lives, but we also really complemented each other in business. Mia kept me grounded. I was always looking to grow and expand the business very quickly, but once we created short-term and long-term goals together, every decision was put through that filter before proceeding.

So you weren’t married when you went into this together? You just dove in?
Mia: We were dating. Now, when I talk about it, I’m like, “Wow, we were crazy!” But it didn’t seem so weird at the time at all.

At that point you were in the shop all day, baking and selling?
Mia: We would bake all night. Very quickly I realized that I couldn’t keep up with the volume, so we hired people to do the baking. I love the customer service, so I wanted to be behind the counter.

What does your job consist of now? What’s an average day like?
Jason: Mia is involved in product development while I now focus on new business opportunities.
Mia: You know, it’s funny because people ask me about getting out of the corporate world, [but] it’s kind of come full circle. Still so much of it is about product innovation, new ideas, and baking and figuring out how to improve what we already have out there. Mostly the products—cupcakes, cookies, cakes, pies, cake pops, you name it.

What is it that appeals to people about cupcakes?
Mia: First and foremost the nostalgia of it—cupcakes are very fun and playful and reminiscent of childhood—and the idea of the individualized dessert that can be specific to your tastes. Jason always likes to speak to the price point, too. It’s such an affordable kind of luxury, especially with the economy the way it is. You might not be able to take your family out to dinner, but you can bring home a six-pack of cupcakes and be a hero.

How do you balance a growing business and being the parents of two small children? Is there even such a thing as balance?
Mia: I actually think I do balance—maybe that’s because I sacrifice my sleep! I really give 100 percent to both, but … you need a lot of support. We have a phenomenal family around us who’s always there to help out. We work extraordinarily well together, Jason and I, so we cover for each other. And I guess you just get good at identifying what’s important versus urgent and just really, really prioritizing.
Jason: It is hard, but I try! My kids are my priority. When Mia was pregnant with both kids, I never missed a single doctor’s appointment or check-up. Nothing was as important! [The kids are] at an age where we can talk on the phone now—or FaceTime—so whenever I need a fix, I call them. Now more than ever, I look forward to the weekends so I can spend every moment with them.

What are some of your favorite things to do together in the city?
Mia: We’re big park-goers, but I like to mix that up. We’ll bring a picnic or paint sets to the park. Really, even just walking down the street to get ice cream is just so stimulating—[there’s] so much to talk about, so much conversation that comes from it. That in itself is a huge adventure.

Did your own childhood love of sweets play a role in deciding to open a cupcake business?
Mia: I had a ferocious sweet tooth, always. I ate every dessert everywhere, was always, always baking. I always say that with the advent of Food Network, kids know that it’s a viable career. [But] I had no idea that that could be a career path. I loved baking; I had a sweet tooth. I wanted to go into retail; it was something that appealed to me even in childhood. So all the elements were there, it just never even occurred to me until I met Jason.

Did his entrepreneurial skills inspire you?
Mia: Yeah. He hadn’t done retail, but after spending some time with him I saw that if you wanted to open up a business, you did open up a business. It was just that simple, really, and I knew I could learn so much from him. It became very exciting, the thought that he could take care of the piece of it that I knew nothing about and I could learn from him.

What advice would you give other parents interested in starting their own businesses?
Jason: Love what you do and take it all in stride. As an entrepreneur, your best day and your worst could sometimes be the same day.
Mia: I always say, “do it.” Maybe that’s so impractical, but I always say it’s not even really about whether you succeed or fail. It’s just being able to say that you did it, that you didn’t let something stop you. It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I still can’t believe I did it. I say that to myself all the time. It’s ten years later and I’m like, “I can’t believe I started my own business.” How great is that?

Jenna Helwig, Founder of Rosaberry, is a culinary instructor, personal chef and freelance writer. She blogs for Yummy Delicious at newyorkfamily.com.

For more of our interview with Mia and Jason, visit newyorkfamily.com.

The mom-and-pop pharmacy was forced to shut its doors due to low insurance reimbursement rates and increasing expenses.
“I’m burned out,” Cammarata, also the head pharmacist, said a few days before the closing. “Living and coming from Jersey takes a lot of money away—and with the cost of everything going up, the pendulum balance isn’t swinging correctly.”

He planned to transfer patrons’ prescriptions to the Duane Reade down the block, but residents visiting Goodrich were unhappy with this change.

“The insurance companies just care about money,” said Lisa Kohler, who lives a few doors down and has been coming to the pharmacy for all of her medications since 1976.

“I don’t care if I get less reimbursement here; if the service is better than in some cold chain pharmacy, it’s worth my money.”
Kohler feels she has become part of a family and does not plan on depending on the new drugstore for her medication.

“I decorate the store window every Christmas, I bring Frank coffee. I can’t do that at Duane Reade,” said Kohler. “Also, this place has character, it’s unique. Duane Reade would make me want to slit my wrists because it’s aesthetically ugly.”

The charm of the place may have come from the 1920s-themed deep walnut cabinets that spanned from the floor to the ceiling of the small space or the nickel-a-pop scale by the entrance.

Kohler also cited longer wait times for medication at chain pharmacies and an incident where a chain store pharmacy gave her elderly mother the wrong prescription.

“There’s never been a mistake in my prescription at Frank’s,” praised Kohler.

Judy Greenbaum, another long-time patron, is also concerned about the change.

“When your health is concerned, it shouldn’t always be about how much cheaper medication is,” said Greenbaum, who has known Cammarata for at least 25 years and trusts him and his experience. “Medication may be a little more expensive here, but the care and service aspect is better than at a chain store. This was such a good resource for the neighborhood.”

Customers seemed to feel comfortable around Cammarata—he often offered medical advice for simple colds with natural remedies, even ones you can find at home, rather than always resorting to medications.

Almost all of Cammarata’s customers have known him for a very long time, he said.

“What I’ll miss most are the customers whom I consider friends and family. I’ve seen most of them grow up from little kids knee-high to become lawyers and doctors. I’ll miss their lovely faces.”

The business has clearly been a big part of Cammarata’s life. One of Cammarata’s fondest memories of the store is meeting his wife, who was a customer. One of his former delivery boys grew up and became a certified technician in the pharmacy.

A deal to give the store to someone else fell through so Cammarata is clueless about what is next for the space. Many are speculating it will be some sort of chain or store run by a corporation.

Cammarata, 68, said he feels forced to retire and, if given the chance, he would have stayed around for about 3 more years.
For now, Cammarata plans to occupy his time continuing to help others—whether volunteering at a hospital or running a private, independent pharmacy from his home.

“After maybe three years, I would have forced myself to retire. I haven’t given it much thought; this sprung up on me. Now I really don’t know what the future holds.”

By Bette Dewing

Yup, a New York Times review’s claim that no one’s sensibilities would be offended by Eat Pray Love actually got me out to the movies. Except for a few offending words, I left the theater with a glow which made East 86th Street’s maddening crowds seem almost friendly. Do you ever miss the going-to-the-movie experience where your sensibilities weren’t offended and earplugs and deep pockets weren’t needed?

That glow faded on seeing subway construction fences crowding either side of 86th Street on Second Avenue. I’d just read 14th Congressional District Republican Candidate Dino LaVerghetti’s August 26th op-ed lament “Small-Businesses, The Forgotten Victims of Second Avenue.”

He talks about how with too little government help, so many of the affected small businesses in the area have closed since 2007. LaVerhgetti warns, “As it moves southward, the construction acts like a virtual Grim Reaper, felling everything in its path.”

Infinitely more could and must be done to save small businesses that in a 20/20-visioned world would be landmarked.

Meanwhile, the Home Depot invasion has felled 60-plus-year-old Thalco’s Hardware Store on Second near 76th Street, where this three-generation family business was headed by Jerry Cotler, who also owns the building. Cotler can’t help being rueful,

“Too many who now say how much they’ll miss us shopped a lot at Home Depot,” he said.

You know what we have to do to save our walking distance “everyday need-providers.” Their owners must organize and protest! Big time! The good news is Jerry will move to Florida where his closest relatives live. But, it’s more bad news for neighborhood survival.

Families of origin are the forgotten people in the Eat Pray Love heroine’s desperate search for post-divorce meaning. But that’s always been entertainment’s sin of omission, though a “fair and balanced” representation could not be more just, or more needed.

Dr. Martin J. Zion surely tried when he was rabbi of Temple of Israel of the City of New York. This excerpt is from his Aug. 10, 1980, homily, aired in this paper:

“Our fixation with personal autonomy has been psychologically devastating. The old, in their search for independence, end up alone. The young, isolating themselves from the old, in their yearning for freedom, end up confused, bewildered and depressed by problems which could have been handled so much better if aided by the older generation’s experience.’’

Amen! Blame all manner of social engineers; especially entertainment’s powerful pushing of potentially disabling generational divides.

Rabbi Zion lost his son on September 11 and, as we near that date, my thoughts are especially with the mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings of those innocents whose lives were so brutally, sinfully, wickedly taken, especially those mourners with too little emotional support. Doubly wounded are those with little contact with their lost loved one’s children when the surviving parent remarries or moves away, either geographically or emotionally.

Mayor Bloomberg, himself a father, surely got this right: “Children who lose their parents are called orphans, bereaved spouses are called widows or widowers, but there is no name for those who lose a son or daughter, because this loss is a loss beyond words.”

And let Grandparents Day (September 12) not be one day of remembering in a year of forgetting. And never forget how human survival so greatly relates to Rabbi Zion’s impassioned belief, including the Fordham U study urging families to stay closely connected with off-to-college freshman boys, who keep their homesickness and other woes too much to themselves. So do men, in general. Beware of alcohol solace.

Rosh Hashanah Blessings to all!