www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY June 2, 2019 2
PLEASE JOIN US
for the
BRONX YMCA SUMMER
BBQ & GOLF OUTING
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Pelham Bay & Split Rock Golf Courses
Golfers can play 9 holes – Shotgun Start @ 4:00 pm
OR play 5 holes – Shotgun Start @ 5:00
Golfers will enjoy snacks on the course and BBQ afterwards – beer and wine included.
SUMMER BBQ FOR NON-GOLFERS
Come to the BBQ and enjoy
Good Food, Fun & Friendship
BBQ begins at 6:30 pm
For more information or sponsorship opportunities,
please contact Sharlene Brown at sbrown@ymcanyc.org
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& SILENT
AUCTION
PRIZES!
TOP $ PAID
FOR JUDAICA
COLLECTIBLES
HOUSE
CALLS
SAME SAME DAY
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ANTIQUES AND ESTATE BUYERS
WE PAY $ CASH $ FOR
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COSTUME JEWELRY, ALL COINS, PAPER
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The List is Endless
YERS
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Swords, Knives,
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We buy anything old. One piece or house full.
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ENTIRE TRI-STATE
Four Morris Park businesses
reopen after devastating fi res
Dominick Principato stands in his new humidor inside of his new store at 1129 Morris Park Avenue.
Avenue Cigar was temporarily sidelined by a fi re on December 23, 2019 but was able to reopen recently
in a new location. Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Businesses in Morris Park
that had a run of bad luck
are now open and back on
track.
Two fi res knocked out
four businesses along the
Morris Park Avenue in 2018
and early this year. Now the
proprietors of those establishments,
after much trial
and toil, are back to doing
what they do best.
Avenue Cigar Lounge,
which was destroyed in a
fi re that also damaged an
adjacent hair salon and a
second fl oor apartment at
the corner of Lurting Avenue
on December 23, 2018,
reopened recently at 1129
Morris Park Avenue, between
Williamsbridge Road
and Tomlinson Avenue.
Dominick Principato
stood proudly in his new
walk-in, cedar-lined humidor
recently and talked about
the selection of fi ne imported
cigars he offers from Honduras,
Nicaragua and the Dominican
Republic.
He said the blaze at his
previous location was a
devastating set back. It took
months to identify a new
location and then build out
the store, which he took
over in March.
As bad as the pre-Christmas
fi re was at the end of
the holiday season, he
truly feels that it could have
been worse.
“It was really bad timing,
but no one got hurt,”
said the cigar store proprietor.
“Stores and buildings
can get rebuilt, but lives
don’t come back.”
At fi rst he wasn’t sure
if he’d be able to fi nd a
store in the same vicinity
as his previous shop, that
was founded in 2009. He
purchased the business in
2016.
“It is a home away from
home for these guys” said
Principato of the shop, adding
that many people in
the area appreciated the
original store because it
was open late and provided
“eyes on the street.”
The new location promises
more of the same winning
formula, and thankfully
Principato said he is
seeing many of the patrons
from the previous store return.
“The word is getting
around and a lot of the old
faces are coming back, and
hopefully I will get some
new faces too,” he said.
Principato grew up in
Morris Park and after some
time living elsewhere, he
moved back to the community.
He carries 200 different
types of cigars including
well-known brands like Romeo
and Juliet, A.J. Fernandez,
Padron, Nat Sherman,
Oliva and Avo Cigars.
The shop features 21
chairs, three televisions
and a group of cigar enthusiasts
that discuss sports,
politics and everything in
between, he said.
At 1003 and 1005 Morris
Park Avenue another fi re
that originated in a second
fl oor apartment above
stores temporarily knocked
out Luciano’s Pizza for three
weeks, said its co-owner
Leopoldo Cervantes.
Once cleaning was complete
and the insurance payout
arrived, the pizzeria was
back in business, he said.
“Thank God we got
things going and are back in
business,” said Cervantes,
adding that local residents
were asking him when the
store was going to reopen.
They were very supportive.
“This business has been
in the community for over
40 years and we wanted to
come back,” he said, adding
that a jiu-jitsu establishment
next door also closed
for a short time before reopening.
The fi re at 1003 Morris
Park Avenue resulted in
the arrest of Ariel Santiago,
who was charged with arson,
reckless endangerment
and criminal mischief, according
to a previous Bronx
Times report.
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