East Harlem Businesses Get Relief Thanks To Pathmark Site Sale

HARLEM, NY — More than 150 East Harlem businesses struggling to survive during the coronavirus pandemic received a boost in the form of $2 million in grants awarded last week through a city program.

Recipients of the East Harlem Small Business Grant Program range from pizzerias to clothing stores to nail salons to barbershops. The grants they received are as low as $1,000 or as high as $20,000.

The funding came from the proceeds of the 2014 sale of the former Pathmark supermarket property on the corner of East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue, for $39 million. The developer Extell is now building a large office tower on the block.

The awardees were announced last Tuesday in a ceremony outside Nocciola Ristorante, an Italian eatery on East 116th Street, which received $16,000. The grant program was formed through a partnership by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Councilmember Diana Ayala, the neighborhood nonprofit Union Settlement and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Seven businesses received $20,000, the top grant amount: Triple A Restaurant; Barcha Pizza; Daps, a Caribbean restaurant; El Barrista Café; Ginjan Cafe; Food Sin Fronteras; and Antwerp B, a catering company.

Since the grants were announced in July, Union Settlement was "overwhelmed with applications from almost 300 East Harlem businesses seeking support," the organization said in a news release.

@galeabrewer In East Harlem on Oct 27 2020 to publicize E Harlem Small Business Grant Program which supports mom & pop businesses; they need & deserve the aid. Congrats @DianaAyalaNYC @MatthewStephenW @unionsettlement @NYCEDC @ManhattanCB11 Info for $ https://t.co/A2DRUpexR6 pic.twitter.com/8iVegMcSf7
— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) November 1, 2020

Eligible businesses had to have 20 or fewer employees, an annual revenue of less than $1 million and operate within Manhattan's Community Board 11. The grants must be used to offset operating expenses like rent and payroll.

"While we focus on long-term solutions to the economic devastation this pandemic has brought to the East Harlem small business community, this grant opportunity will provide some immediate relief to the businesses that have struggled and faced enormous challenges during the past several months," Ayala said when the program was launched in July.

Click here to view the full list of grant recipients.