But now the store must move. The commercial building and another across the street were recently sold to developer Thomas Conway, who also owns a nearby food hall and a co-working space. Conway has asked most of the businesses, nearly a dozen, to move so that he can transform the two strip malls. The business owners said Conway has given them about 30 days to leave.On a recent afternoon, Virgile shared the news with customer Daniella Eugene, who drove up from Key West to show here.“There’s a new owner,” he said. “And they want us out. It’s a shock to us all.”Little Haiti, a once predominantly Haitian enclave, has seen a burst of new development and interest from real estate investors and developers because of its central location in Miami. New projects are underway in the neighborhood, rent prices are soaring and Haitian business owners, such as those in the two buildings Conway plans to rehab, said that they are being pushed out. Some residents also believe that the threat of climate change is a factor as well.Conway did not respond to several requests for comment.Many of the businesses were operating with month-to-month leases and, in Florida, a landlord is allowed to give a 15-day notice to terminate a lease.
Pierre-Richard Maximilien, who runs a travel agency in one of the complexes, said he wrote Conway a rent check, only to have it returned a few days later with no explanation. Then he got court papers saying he was facing eviction for not paying rent. “He’s just killing the Haitian businesses and what we’re doing for the community because we’re serving the community,” said Maximilien, who has been renting his space for nine years.Maximilien said he asked Conway about returning after the mall rehab is complete and was told his rent would increase significantly. "I said, 'How much higher?' He couldn't tell me exactly."Jorge Isaac, an attorney representing Conway, said his client denies claims that he did not accept rent payments from the tenants.Several other business owners at the complex raised the same issue at a press conference in April, where they denounced one of the largest evictions of Haitian-owned businesses in Little Haiti.One of the signs in Creole read: "We want to pay. Thomas Conway doesn't want to collect."“To me, this is gentrification at its worst right now,” said Cartine Vilson, a community organizer with Family Action Network Movement, a nonprofit that works with Haitian businesses and homeowners in the area.Vilson said Miami must decide how to save small businesses from commercial gentrification to preserve neighborhood identity and the financial livelihood of business owners who invested in communities before they became trendy. “Do we count or do we not count?” she asked at the press conference. “We count and we need to be heard. We matter.”A few blocks south, a Little Haiti thrift store also called a press conference when it shuttered its doors late last year. Schiller Sanon owned the Little Haiti Thrift and Gift Store at Northeast 59th Street and Second Avenue for six years. He blamed a lack of foot traffic in the area coupled with ballooning rent costs for bringing down his business. “We wanted to be part of the well-being of the Haitian community, and it didn’t happen," Sanon-Jules said.At the strip mall on 82nd street that was recently purchased, Jean Luca is sweeping in front of the storefronts. He does odd jobs for several of the Haitian businesses. Sometimes he gets picked up as a dishwasher in one of the restaurants. He said he knows in a month or two the Haitian businesses he relies on to eke out a day-to-day living will be gone. “I don’t think the new businesses will hire me,” he said. “A person like me won’t get any work here anymore.”Some of the business owners said that they are struggling to find new commercial space to relocate.Marie-Janine Desir owns a variety store that sells clothes, lotion, pots and produce. "I can't find anything in this area," said Desir, who lives in Little Haiti and doesn't have a car. She said that she walks to work; at lunch she leaves to check on her disabled daughter, who is in the care of an in-home nurse. She said if she doesn't find a place to rent she'll have to put her inventory in storage. "That will kill my business," she said. "I won't be making any money. How am I supposed to live?"Virgile, the tuxedo and formal wear store owner, said it is heartbreaking to leave Little Haiti, the only place he has worked for 32 years. The most affordable space he could find was in North Miami, about 15 minutes away. He expects to lose some of his customer base in the move, he said.“It’s a lot to deal with as a business owner, but I have to pack up and go,” said Virgile. “I won’t be in Little Haiti anymore.”This piece originally appeared on WLRN.
BROOKLYN, NY — An effort to name parts of the Flatbush section of Brooklyn “Little Haiti” plunged into controversy last week when a local political operative blasted the idea as divisive and misguided.Haitian community members and leaders called on support from the mayor for the establishment of “Little Haiti” in the same area that was designated “Little Caribbean” last week.Little Caribbean would begin at Brooklyn College and run along Flatbush Avenue to Empire Boulevard.“The Haitian community supports the designation of both ‘Little Haiti’ and ‘Little Caribbean,'” said Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, the first Haitian-American to be elected to the State Legislature from New York City. Bichotte represents the 42nd Assembly District which encompasses the communities of Ditmas Park, Flatbush, East Flatbush and Midwood.
While the proposal has garnered support from some in the community including the Haitian American Caucus, Haitian American Business Network Chamber of Commerce and Haiti Cultural Exchange, the proposed “Little Haiti” has also been met with criticism.In an email to Bichotte and a host of other elected officials, including Council Member Mathieu Eugene and Rep. Yvette D. Clark, Ernest Skinner, a local community organizer and activist, condemned Bichotte’s efforts to co-name the Flatbush area “Little Haiti.” He called the move “misguided” and one of “division.”“When did Haiti stop being part of the Caribbean? This is the same insularity which sunk the fledgling Caribbean Federation,” he said in the email. “Sowing division may be why Haiti has never been able to reach its full potential and why it is considered a Fourth World country despite the noble start it gave to the Independence movement among people of color.”Bichotte has since sent a letter to Skinner calling for a public apology.“We support the Caribbean community. We are part of the Caribbean community,” the letter reads. “Although you have supported Haitian Americans and Haitian initiatives in the past, your statement clearly shows that your heart was not in it and thus erases any and all efforts.”The letter, which was signed by 11 Haitian community leaders and groups, including the Haitian Roundtable and Assemblymembers Michaelle Solages and Kimberly Jean-Pierre, emphasizes the various Haitian-related initiatives that highlight the history and culture of Haiti. She lists the street co-naming of Nostrand Avenue with Toussaint L’Ouverture Boulevard, the annual Haitian parades on Nostrand Avenue and the establishment of the Haitian Studies Institute (HSI) housed at Brooklyn College.“We were taken aback by the lack of engagement that has been shown to many of the elected officials and key stakeholders within the Haitian community throughout the overall process,” Bichotte said.The designation for “Little Caribbean” was initiated by Flatbush native Shelley Worrell, founder of CaribBEING, a Brooklyn-based organization dedicated to showcasing Caribbean culture. She has been working on the designation for roughly two years and saw it as an opportunity to support the existing businesses in the area, as well as, position the area as a tourist attraction.Councilman Jumaane D. Williams is the designating councilman for the initiative and is encouraging “more fruitful dialogue” to mitigate tensions.“My office is looking forward on working to pursue both an official ‘Little Caribbean’ and a ‘Little Haiti,'” said Williams. “The words in the letter were hurtful; I understand the community’s concern and I certainly hope an apology is forthcoming, and deservedly so.”There were conversations about a “Little Haiti” long before there was one for a “Little Caribbean,” Bichotte said in a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio.The idea for a “Little Haiti” emerged several years ago. Bichotte and Williams, whose districts encompasses one of the largest Haitian constituencies in New York, discussed the matter but temporarily tabled talks on the designation to focus on advocacy for HSI.The plan was to revisit the idea after HSI was off the ground.According to Bichotte, the decision to name Flatbush Avenue “Little Caribbean” was done without community support or involvement.“Haiti has had a unique position within the Caribbean — it is in the Caribbean, but not of the Caribbean,” said Bichotte. “Although Haiti is geographically part of the Caribbean, the Haitian community has historically been singled out and excluded as a member of the greater Caribbean community, which is why Haitians have had to build separate communities and organizations in order to survive.”When Haitians migrated to Brooklyn in the 1970s and 1980s, many faced discrimination from Black and Caribbean Americans who lived in the area. Cultural tensions between the French-Creole speaking immigrants and their English-speaking counterparts spurred division within the greater West Indian community.Old wounds have been opened as the voices of the community and elected officials have not been engaged throughout the designation process,” Bichotte said. “Although, the journey to unity has come a long way between island politics and differences, having both designations would be ideal to acknowledge the Haitian people’s struggle. If all goes well, the designation of ‘Little Haiti’ would be established first in order to be encapsulated within the designated area of the ‘Little Caribbean.'”For Samuel Pierre, co-founder of Haitian American Caucus, the idea of a “Little Haiti” is welcomed but should also help put a light on other issues in the community. The nonprofit provides personal and professional development opportunities for the Haitian community and operates out of Flatbush.“Designating the Flatbush area as ‘Little Haiti’ speaks to the vibrancy that the Haitian community has added to Brooklyn. At the same time, we must use this renewed attention to raise awareness on socioeconomic issues that are barriers to success for many of our people.”By 
“We support the Caribbean community. We are part of the Caribbean community. In recognition and in support of our heritage we advocated for placing the Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College; not instead of “Little Haiti,” but in continuance of cultivating “Little Haiti’s” foundation.”
For the diverse neighborhood — strong in resemblance to its namesake country, and now plush in scattered palms — a humid 32-degree celsius weekday afternoon with no electricity, and no back-up generators is wearing on an already wary community.With their stocked coolers quickly diminishing, along with all their perishables, the family barbecues can only last so long.‘We really need help’
Anthony Bennett, like others in his community, is frustrated that wealthier neighborhoods have begun to see their lights turn on, and not theirs.“We all bleed the same, so we feel like if they got lights, we should have lights too,” Bennett said. “We shouldn't be over here suffering waiting till next week or the week after.”
Passing by Bennett’s home, neighbor Haitian-native Sylvie Lucien borrowed a purple crayola marker, and penned a cardboard sign asking for assistance.“We have newborn babies and disabled elderly...we desperate,” Lucien read aloud. “We need help. We really need help.”For Lucien, the personal financial struggles she endures began long before Irma. But the passing of a hurricane, she says, reveals a devastating reality: if it were worse, she might not have survived.“You can't go nowhere,” Lucien said, frustrated. “We were going to stay here and die because where can you go with no car, and nobody picking you up?”
Ortiz, on the other hand, says she and her husband had a choice, but decided to stay and not risk separating from their pet dog. Next time, she admits, the decision will be easier.“I couldn’t handle it again,” Ortiz said.By: