After nearly 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Lucia Portela-Rojas worked her way to becoming the owner of one of the oldest pharmacies in Union City.
After nearly 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Lucia Portela-Rojas worked her way to becoming the owner of one of the oldest pharmacies in Union City. As the proprietor for the last four years of Sugarman’s Farmacia at 4201 Bergenline Ave., she feels it was worth it to continue the tradition of the 76-year-old business even though there’s a lot more competition than there once was.
The revitalization of the business districts in Hudson County since the mid 1990s has encouraged chain stores to drop anchor here, making some smaller shops wonder if they can survive. But they have come up with their own ways to keep customers.
"Even though we have seen chain stores become more visible in our area, the good thing about our neighborhood is the one-on-one rapport that chain stores don’t have with the neighborhoods," said Portela-Rojas. "We are not just here to treat people like a number. For many small business owners, their stores are their livelihood. That doesn’t mean that the chain stores don’t have something good to offer the community, but we are not a factory. It’s more personal."
John Parchinsky, the president of Hoboken’s Chamber of Commerce, agreed. "In Hoboken, the stores really rely on the support of the people who live here," Parchinsky said. "If you give that personal touch to your neighbors, they will respond. Anyone could go shop at a mall, but they won’t get the same treatment like they would in their neighborhood stores."
Private and government incentives
The Chamber has come up with promotions such as drawings to encourage residents to shop locally, and they plan to partner with the city of Hoboken to try out a free shopping shuttle up and down Washington Street through the month of April.
The Chamber is funded by its members and not by public money. In other towns, some business districts have relied on programs fueled by state funding.
State and local grant and loan programs have helped revitalize shopping districts in North Bergen, West New York and Jersey City. In Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs), state money goes into redevelopment, and stores can charge only 3 percent sales tax instead of 6 percent. The tax goes back toward improvements.
Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) are state-funded community-based agencies that encourage business development. Brian Hemphill, executive director of the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (SID) in Jersey City, said that some of the goals of the SID have been to make sure the avenues are clean and graffiti-free, to continue facade improvement programs, to refurbish areas along Newark Avenue as they’ve done on Bergenline, and to launch marketing programs, sidewalk sales and ads.
These programs and others have helped several Hudson County towns see a resurgence of interest in their shopping districts. Strips like Washington Street in Hoboken, Bergenline Avenue in Union City and West New York and Newark Avenue in Jersey City have repaved streets and sidewalks, restore facades of storefronts, replace light posts and expand municipal parking lots.
"With the funding we have received, we have been able to make Bergenline more attractive not only for those who live here, but to other retail businesses who want to offer services to the community," said Oscar Migueli, coordinator of the West New York Urban Enterprise Zone.
He added that smaller stores have been successful even with competition along Kennedy Boulevard from businesses like Walgreen’s and P.C. Richards.
Manuel and Lilia Gonzalez of West New York, who have had their antique shop on Bergenline Avenue for 32 years, find the work being done in the UEZ great for all businesses in the area.
"The UEZ has really been of great assistance to the small businesses," said Lilia Gonzalez. "There is concern over how these new outlets will affect us, but I feel that if people want to shop in the area, it’s because we too have something to offer."
Convenience debated
But times have changed, and as people still travel to their neighborhood stores to buy their merchandise, they have also welcomed the new malls that have surfaced in recent years.
"I used to shop on Bergenline when I was young, but I really like that they have malls closer now because I find the quality and the prices to be better," said Karen Rodriquez of Union City last week. "I’m not saying that the small stores can’t offer people good buys, but sometimes chain stores give you sales and merchandise that you just can’t get out here. At least if they’re closer, you give people an option."
Unlike Secaucus, which has had a range of outlet malls, other towns in North Hudson needed a closer facility to make their residents’ shopping sprees more convenient. The late ’80s and early ’90s saw the development of the Kennedy Center in Union City and the Newport Mall in Jersey City. The Regal Cinemas and Pathmark Supermarket built on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen soon followed. Then, the Englewood-based real estate firm called TREECO that had built the Kennedy Center returned to build the Columbia Park Center in North Bergen on 32nd Street and Kennedy Boulevard. This brought 20 retail stores including Staples, Circuit City, and Ashley Stewart. It opened in November, 1999.
New outlets
David Silver, corporate direct of marketing for Levin Management Corporation, which oversees the decades-old Union City Shopping Center, said he didn’t think such strip malls hurt area businesses. He said that in some ways, they might help them.
"We’re happy to see other retailers interested in what we have to offer as a city," said Silver last week. "One of things that attracts them is the demographics, income and location. The area looks a lot more attractive now than what it used to be, and people seem to be making more money than a few years ago. The way I see it, if customers would be willing to frequent these outlets, it would generate more business to the local merchants. It’s just a matter of how you handle the competition."
"It has been a challenge for our small businesses to deal with the surge of big businesses migrating to the area in recent years," said Brian Hemphill, executive director of the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (SID) in downtown Jersey City. "But it hasn’t deterred our efforts in providing resources to help them be more competitive. If we want to build the area, then we need to create a shopping experience for our shoppers; a place that will make us thrive as a whole."