WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 22, 2019 7
Hopes revived Glen. chamber will save Myrtle
BY JESSICA MILITELLO
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
As Glendale residents and
business struggle to save their
portion of Myrtle Avenue,
there’s renewed hope that a revived
chamber of commerce will help get
things going once again.
On Aug. 15, local business owners
and elected offi cials gathered at the
Flower Power Coff ee Shop on Myrtle
Avenue to begin the process of
resurrecting the dormant Glendale
Chamber of Commerce to champion
business growth in the area.
Organizing the meeting were
Dorothy Stepnowska, Flower
Power’s owner, and Angelica Harris,
a writer and speaker who runs the
Excalibur Mentoring Program,
also in Glendale. Assemblyman
Mike Miller, state Senator Joe
Addabbo and representatives from
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan’s
office and Councilman Robert
Holden’s office were also present,
as was Ted Renz, executive director
of the nearby Myrtle Avenue
Business Improvement District in
neighboring Ridgewood.
Harris, who has her nonprofit
in the area and has lived in the
Glendale community for over 25
years, has personally witnessed
businesses closing down in the
community and feels passionate
about working together to revive
the neighborhood.
“I’ve seen so many businesses that
have drowned and closed,” Harris
said. “And they hurt the view of
our community. We need to come
together and work as a community
to help each other.”
The Glendale Chamber of
Commerce has teetered back and
forth from active to dormant over the
course of its existence, with a return
to dormancy in the last several years.
However, a new group of businesses
owners have started to come together
in the hopes of working with each
other and the Glendale community
to revitalize the area.
Miller offered his expertise in
encouraging the new group as well as
providing advice on what to do next.
“You’re going to be a great group
of people working together to make
sure that you can bring what you
need to this community,” Miller
said. “The Chamber can do so many
things. You can also apply for grants
to bring into the community and we
can help unify the community as a
coalition of people together.”
Addabbo made a point of
mentioning that the chamber
would be helpful to businesses
fighting myriad violations that
city agencies have enforced
against small businesses in recent
years, including those specifically
focused on store signs and a lack of
proper illumination.
The senator explained that oft en the
owners didn’t know the signs were
illegal until they faced heft y fi nes
that, in some instances, threatened
the survival of the business.
“I fi lled in our City Council member,
Bob Holden,” said Addabbo, “and
we’re working together with the
Department of Buildings to resolve
the issue because these businesses
were being hurt and teetering
on closing.”
The group has tentative plans
to reconvene on Sept. 16. In the
meantime, they plan on working
hard to recruit more businesses to
the cause.
State Senator Joe Addabbo addresses attendees at an Aug. 15 meeting
in Glendale on plans to resurrect the dormant Glendale Chamber of
Commerce. Photo by Jessica Militello
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