Errol’s Bakery, Flatbush 'Institution' Fighting Gentrification, Wins New Lease

FLATBUSH, NY — A Caribbean bakery in Flatbush that has been in business for 15 years won a new lease after facing eviction, local activists said, following months of community protests and a petition that drew support across New York City.

The property's owner had pushed off discussions of a new lease, instead trying to raise the rent dramatically, according to Imani Henry, a spokesman for Equality For Flatbush, an anti-gentrification group. Henry said that's a common practice among NYC landlords.

Members of the community held demonstrations outside of the bakery, including one during a snowstorm, to try to keep the institution in business. A petition gathered nearly 1,500 signatures.

"It was an amazing show of strength," Henry told Patch. "The petition was circulated, I don’t know how many thousands of times. I know people from Harlem who were at demonstrations in front of Errol’s. It became an all Brooklyn-wide sort of thing because Errol’s is such an institution in our community.”

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After the lease expired in May, a temporary agreement allowed Errol Miller, who opened the bakery 15 years ago, to keep the bakery open through February. The temporary lease was for $5,000 per month plus metered utilities, up from the previous rent of $3,500, Miller had told Patch.

The owner was looking to rent his space, plus two spaces attached to the bakery, for a total of $8,000 per month, Miller said he heard from a friend.

City law does not guarantee lease renewals for commercial business. Activists have fought for a rule requiring landlords to negotiate with small businesses to stave off gentrification, Henry said.

"Their landlords could offer a renewal, but at a rate that they can’t afford," Henry said about the common practice among NYC landlords. "It could be a 100 percent increase. We know the going rate in the neighborhood has been seven, eight thousand dollars. Most small businesses can’t afford that."

Equality For Flatbush provided the bakery with an attorney, produced a video about the struggle and circulated the petition.

Patch has reached out to Miller about the new lease, and we'll update this story when we hear back. A message left with Rothstein Management was not immediately returned.

"This bakery has been here for 15 years, and before it was Errol’s it was something else," Henry said. "That corner has had a bakery on it for over 30 years. It’s an institution. There are people in other parts of the world and the country that say, 'When I come to Flatbush, I eat there.'"

In an Equality For Flatbush announcement, Miller thanked the community for the support.

“We just want to thank everyone in the community who supported us," Miller said. "From the people in the neighborhood who came out, to our people in The Caribbean and Europe who signed the petition, we couldn’t have gotten a lease without you."

Image via John Santore, Patch