Despite claims made by Mayor Adams that respite centers for the thousands of delivery workers in the city would be located in derelict and abandoned newsstands, the city is knocking down a Bronx newsstand to make room for a delivery workers’ “street hub.”
Mohammad Ullah, co-owner of the Nabila Newsstand in Rose Hill Park, off Fordham Road, said, “I don’t know why they’re doing this.
“I’m not sure why they do this, but I know this business is good for the neighborhood and me. I’m not sure why they want to shut it down, and I’m annoyed.
Ullah and Mostack Bhuiyan have operated the newsstand since 2008. They are both immigrants who fled Bangladesh and have established great life for themselves.
Customers and the public are dissatisfied. News of the store’s demise circulated on Friday morning.
Nolma Campell exclaimed, “Oh, no, no, no, no.” “I love how convenient this store is! Additionally essential. Both the setting and the people are excellent. You arrive to play the lottery and take a coffee, and the railway station is nearby. Nothing about this makes sense.
In October, Adams promised to convert abandoned newsstands into “street hubs,” so bike-riding food delivery employees could relax, recharge their e-bikes, and fix their equipment.
The program is funded by a $1 million infrastructure project that the United States obtained. Chuck Schumer, senator (D-N.Y.).
How can we transform blight into a tool that could provide employment? Given how the newsstand industry has altered and evolved, we know this is the best approach.
The two additional newsstands slated for conversion are vacant at City Hall and on the Upper West Side.
The Rose Hill Park’s Nabila Newsstand isn’t. The concession deal with the owners, which works like a long-term lease, expires in March.
According to a source in the Parks Department, Nabila Newsstand or anybody else cannot use the site beyond March because the bidding procedure has ended. As a result, the newsstand cannot use the space beyond March.
Rafael Moure-Punnett, district manager for Bronx Community Board 6, stated,
“The mayor’s office approached me and said there was an empty, underused newsstand they wanted to use. “But it’s not unoccupied! I argued. It appears they were committed to their goal from the start and didn’t care what the evidence showed.
In a letter to the parks division, Moure-Punnett enquired why the lease wasn’t being renewed.
“The agreement’s term with this newsstand is about to expire. In response to the email that the Daily News obtained, a department staffer stated that Parks was “looking into an alternate use for this facility.”
The employee of the Parks Department stated in a separate email that the location of this newsstand was being considered as a site for a delivery workers’ hub.
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