West Kingsbridge Road businesses face rent hikes

Business owners along West Kingsbridge Road say they are being forced out due to rent hikes. Lucila Saabeedera has run her flower shop business at the corner of Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue for

News 12 Staff

Sep 4, 2014, 2:42 AM

Updated 3,746 days ago

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Business owners along West Kingsbridge Road say they are being forced out due to rent hikes.
Lucila Saabeedera has run her flower shop business at the corner of Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue for nearly 30 years. She says her monthly rent is increasing by $450.
Saabeedera is one of dozens of business owners that say they've been offered month-to-month leases by the new owners of the buildings. The new owners took over while the fate of the vacant Kingsbridge Armory across the street was being decided.
A proposed plan is to turn the armory into an ice skating facility, but an official leasing agreement has not been signed.
Bronx Community Board 7 has gotten involved to try to get the building and store owners to come up with long-term leases.
The business owners say they are expecting to be offered new leases by the first of the year, but they are afraid of more possible rent increases.