By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — Fruit stand owner Babu Nabi would see lines for his fresh bananas, blueberries and mangoes stretch all the way down the block when St. Vincent’s Medical Center was stil open.
Now, the Bangladesh-born businessman is lucky if a few customers an hour stroll up to his stand across the street from the now-defunct hospital's emergency room on W. 12th Street.
Nabi, 42, has seen sales shrink from $2,500 worth of fruit sold per day to a few hundred dollars, which barely covers the cost of operating the stand.
“Business has been very slow,” said Nabi, who is the father of a new baby. “It’s very sad. We may have to close the business.”
Nabi isn't alone. Approximately 20 businesses have shuttered in the area following St. Vincent’s closure in April, according to the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce.
“The hospital’s closure has had a snowball effect," said Lauren Danziger, executive director of the chamber, which promotes business growth in the area. "With the loss of 3,500 jobs at St. Vincent’s, there are 3,500 fewer patrons, shoppers and customers, along with fewer visitors."
Petit Café used to serve lunch to dozens of hospital workers each day at 70 Greenwich Ave., but it was forced to close down earlier this month. Restaurant Artepasta shuttered its doors on Seventh Avenue and the women’s clothing store Colony at 45 Seventh Ave. also closed down recently.
“The central Village is definitely a lot more vacant and it’s not just one day," Danziger added. "It’s steady and obvious.”
Henry Valerio, who during the day runs at Quik Park, the parking garage across the street from the hospital, said the atmosphere in the neighborhood has changed.
“It’s like a ghost town,” Valerio said, with his company downsizing staff and introducing special deals to get by. “The neighborhood used to be more alive and vibrant.”
Nearby West Village Florist on 11th Street sells less than half the number of flowers it used to. Paper Works, which sells cards and stuffed animals, has dozens of balloons still left over from before the hospital closed. The shop, located around the corner from the hospital on Seventh Avenue, previously sold at least 20 balloons per day.
While many are struggling, some businesses aren’t feeling the pinch as much.
Fiddlesticks, a night club around the corner from the hospital buildings, is still going strong. Manager Kaori Espaillat said hundreds of young people party at night and over the weekend at the club, but their lunch business has declined since St. Vincent's closed.
The drop in sales is a major problem for the majority of small business owners in the area.
Sammy Nadje operates Jesse’s Express Café and Deli down the block from St. Vincent’s. Nadje said the loss of the hospital has been detrimental to 32-year-old family business and neighborhood morale.
“We’ve lost 75 percent of our business and we may have to close,” he said, visibly upset. “But what hurts most is I feel like I’m losing part of my family.”
