Flatbush businesses are reporting declining foot traffic and staffing challenges due to growing concerns about ICE, reported Documented.
A survey conducted by the Flatbush-Nostrand Junction Business Improvement District and published in July found that 70 % of responding business owners reported a decrease in foot traffic over the past year. Fifty percent said customers had raised concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, while 33 % anticipated a likely reduction in their workforce.
More than 80 % of businesses in the district are minority-owned, according to Kenneth Mbonu, BID president and executive director. Mbonu estimates that more than 70 % of those businesses are immigrant-owned.
Many of Flatbush's small businesses depend on customers visiting their storefronts.
Wendy Jules, co-owner of Fleur de Lis Beauty & Esthetics, that
Walk-ins have declined sharply, Wendy Jules, co-owner of Fleur de Lis Beauty & Esthetics told Documented. Jules noticed the slowdown around late May. In July, she said there were weeks when only about four people stopped by without appointments.
“You can definitely see there’s a downturn on the activity in the street,” Jules said. “There’s usually more people out, more people shopping or people stopping in to see what services are being offered.
Immigration enforcement has also created staffing concerns. Mbonu said some workers, including people with pending immigration applications who are authorized to work, have been reluctant to leave home or report to work because of fears of detention. Those concerns may also extend to green card holders and U.S. citizens who worry about being detained by mistake.
Small businesses across Brooklyn are also dealing with accrued expenses from tariffs, along with the same rising costs that effect consumers, President and CEO of Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Randy Peers told BK Reader.
The BID plans to use the survey findings to work with agencies and community partners on ways to address declining foot traffic, staffing concerns, rising costs and anxiety among customers.
For Flatbush businesses, the effort comes as merchants navigate economic pressures while trying to maintain the commercial activity that supports the neighborhood’s diverse communities.
