9 Responses to “Harlem Bike Doctors”
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Whats Wrong With Yall People They Starving Out Here Trying To Get Something To Eat trying to make a living off fixing bikes its not like there selling drugs of killing people there fixing bikes and ppl who say thats bad are full of bull im from Harlem and you have to live in harlem to see whats this is about
it’s not the congestion Humme, it’s the fact that they operate unlicensed businesses on the streets of NY. the downtown vendors you are talking about all are licensed and regulated and pay fees/taxes to operate their businesses. the ones that arent are chased by cops…see canal street as example. those guys are ready to run at the first sign of a cop, but in harlem there is no fear.
i for one put drug dealing WAYYYYYYY above any of this stuff as my number one concern, but that doesnt mean it’s not wrong just cause it aint drug dealin.
I’d like to add: making this about the “double standards” of Harlem residents is tricky. If some guy who sells collard greens from the back of a truck gets a license, how much do you want to bet that he still wouldn’t get the respect of a prissy restaurant on Lenox Avenue that takes up half the sidewalk with tables & chairs when the weather is warm? Somebody would force him into retirement over bad presentation. Go down to SoHo and you’ll see street vendors galore along West Broadway, Prince & Spring streets. They sell art, jewelry and more, and they have for years. You would think that the white dwellers in that community would never tolerate such congestion. Yet they DO. Still, you have to look like them to obtain validation. Maybe the street vendors down there pay taxes so we can all breathe easier. So who’s to say whether Sylvia’s could have cars parked on a SoHo street? Hell, the retail spaces of Manhattan are already too homogenized. Is it really so bad for a merchant to operate in an unconventional venue? Sensible people can tell when a line is crossed and these setups are unmanageable, but painting every offender with a broad brush is stupid.
I wonder if either “Anonymous” or “Harlemite” are so bold in tackling the REAL problem of sidewalk businesses in Harlem. I’m more concerned with the street pharmacists who embolden virulent criminality and condition our residents to expect the risk of incarceration as a cultural norm. How quick are you to call 911, 311 or any other number about them? Hang around 132nd Street on 7th Ave or Lenox, and your phone will surely get a workout. And you’ll be on your own, because the block association doesn’t give a hot damn. Neither do the residents (so many of them are involved in the dealing, it’s not even funny). Neither does the 32nd precinct. But by all means, let’s put sidewalk barbecuing and produce selling even higher on the list of atrocities. I’ve heard more about food poisoning from downtown salad bars than I ever did about unlicensed Harlem sellers – in fact, I’ve never heard of that being a problem uptown. You act as if you can’t even make it down one single street up here without innumerable obstructions. That’s some truly unprecedented whining. As for Giuliani doing favors, the biggest one he did for me was confirming that cops would probably kill me sooner than they’d respect me. How about helping the businesses who operate outside of the tax system to reform and legitimize themselves? You never know what type of disenfranchisement led them to cutting corners. And they’re as black as me, so I have a good idea of what it could be. At least they don’t boldly sell poison to people in broad daylight. But I have a feeling that our detractors here would round up drug dealers and bike repairers only to give them all the same jail sentence.
Yes! Completely agree with above poster. Call 311 and call the precinct about businesses like this! We have an auto repair shop that blocks sidewalks all the time fixing cars. This is against the law. This shop does not pay taxes, is not legit and would not survive ANYWHERE else in NYC.
I call 311 constantly on them. That is the best recourse. Calling the precinct too as well as getting more than yourself calling – tell all your neighbors to call and put a stop to this nonsense.
I for one hate the double standard applied to Harlem. It has got to end. City rules are city rules, Period. No one gets free passes.
Humme ? Yes, this is the type of set up that Harlemites have been exploited at for years. I think I’ve seen this set up, is it on 124th St. across the street from Mount Morris Park? If that’s not it, there is a set up just like it located there. It’s outrageous that you or anyone applaud this type of set up.
Can we be honest? (1) These business is not paying taxes for example (at least they are not charging and or collecting taxes from customers). (2) I’ve been to this shop, they indeed have some new bikes, most of the inventory is used, that’s fine no problem. The problem? They line up and display their inventory on the sidewalk us taxpayers are being for. You can even see it on the photo. In other words, this private business is using public property as retail floor space. They also do work on bikes servicing them on the public sidewalk.
This is typical out of control “do whatever you want” Old Harlem. Mayor Guiliani did Harlem a big favor in cleaning up the out of control street merchants of 125th St. Businesses like this are a net negative to a community and Harlem will be better off when every one of them is GONE!
For a restaurant to use the public sidewalk for it’s business and outdoor dining? There is a licensing/permit process that must be adhered to. Merchants are not free to use the sidewalk to do whatever they want in front of their stores and this is a major serious problem in Harlem. I know of numerous Restaurants that have set up BBQ Grills and Pits on the Sidewalk in front of their restaurant and cook. We’ve all seen this in Harlem. It’s illegal. Sometimes the police crack down on it, sometimes they don’t. This is driven often by community complaints.
I think it’s now closed but that Jamaican Patty Shop on the corner of 135th & 7th Ave, next to the Popeye’s, across the street from Thurogood Marshall School and next to that small Barber shop, that Patty Shop/Food Joint used to BB@ in front of their store. That Block between 7th & 8th Ave on 135th has a very very strong Block / community association. They complained to the NYPD (also on that block) and law was enforced, they stopped him from BBQ’ing on the sidewalk.
Other blocks are not strong and don’t care about the utilization of pubic street for commercial purposes. This “Halem Bike Doctors” COULD NOT OPERATE as it does now in its location on that specific Block! That Block would not let them use the public space as they do now.
The point.? Humme here is applauding what is a serious problem in Harlem, the commerce taking place on public sidewalk by these “old Harlem” type of establishments (that operate void of compliance to law and standards (assuming they own the sidewalk and can dictate it’s free use).
Examples? (1) Every day Sylvia’s has vehicles parked on the sidewalk, the public sidewalk (as if they own it and are entitled to using it as their private parking space). Only in Harlem. A restaurant on the UWS, Tribeca, or in a “controlled” part of the City could not do this, Slyvia’s could not do this if their restaurant was in SoHo, Fidi, or any where else in lower Manhattan. (2) 114th & Lenox or so? The Hair Shop called “Norma Jeans” or something like that. It’s standard practice for that business to set up chairs on the sidewalk for their customers to sit in. In otherwords, this Hair Shop uses the sidewalk as their sitting area and waiting room as standard practice. It’s not uncommon to see 1 or 2 DOZEN people sitting out there in chairs blocking the sidwalk, everyone knows this. This would not happen in MidTown or anywhere else in lower Manhattan (3) Harlem is plaugged with 100+ “Sidewalk Mechanic Businesses”. You’ll see them all over. People who basically set up shop much like this Halem Bike Shop and work on autos. You’ll see the oil, the debris, the garbage, the litter in the immediate vicinity. Environmental standards be damnned. (4) With Spring and Summer will come Unlicensed Food operations with people selling BBQ, Burgers, all sorts of stuff. (5) Every day on the corner of 132nd & Lenox next to McDonald’s, a guy sets up his own personal Market selling an array of meats (sausage, fish, ribs, etc.) and this is all entirely illegal. There are standards in storing meat (refrigeration) that are not complied with, the guy uses the public sidewalk, parks illegally, anyone can see this illegal operation every day that violates health standards.
The point? Harlem Merchants using the public sidewalk willy nilly, at their own discretion must end. This is not acceptable in lower Manhattan, why is it Okay in Harlem? Why 2 standards? Do Harlem residents not deserve to have codes, laws, & standards applied to the sidewalk as they are in Tribeca? I can give you all 50+ examples of the unlawful use of the sidewalk in Harlem by merchants. All of this is unacceptable. The Halem Bike Shop should not get a pass, Sylvia’s should not get a pass, that same order and compliance Upper East Side citizens enjoy? Well those of us in Harlem should enjoy them too. Efforts to minimize these violations are easy to make….until you step back…and look at the whole, the sheer number of merchants that violate things here, a code there, and before you know it you see the violations in Harlem truly are rampant and bring a “blight” factor to the nabe.
The community and block organization of 135th St. between 7th & 8th Ave has it right. They would not let “Island Hot Pot Patty Shop” BBQ on the street. They cracked down, demanded compliance, and got it. The block has order. They’ve even cracked down on the NYPD blocking the sidewalk with their cars in front of that precindt.
Too bad all blocks in Harlem were not like that specific Block association. Civic compliance and adherence to standards is a good thing. Most of Manhattan practices it, Harlem does not. The Halem Bike Shop contributes to the problem.
I’m so glad that someone decided to give this business recognition. This is the type of no-frills setup that Harlemites have been utilizing for years, now being ignored by the developments that dwarf them.
Last summer it came to my attention that my bike was missing a part that would bind its wheel to the frame. Having remembered this place after passing it on a previous ride, I went there for advice. When the right part was suggested to me, I didn’t have the cash to buy it. Luckily it was given to me anyway, and I was trusted to return the following day with a full payment.
If only more men in my area of Harlem were this entrepreneurial, I’d see a lot less foolishness on our street corners.
nice catch, narmer! i hadn’t noticed this.
Where is the R?