JACKSON HEIGHTS — The owner of a yoga studio plans to close her space by the end of the month — saying that after operating for more than a year without a lease, it's time to move on.
Mimi Borda's MiMi for Me studio has used a nearly 500-square-foot space on the second floor of 76-11 37th Ave. for nearly five years, but over the past year she's been without a lease and worries that it's a "slippery slope" towards being ousted as her neighbors, the Queens Pride House, have expanded.
Other businesses have left the building and she's been without a lease for a long time, and she fears the writing's on the wall, she said.
"Maybe the universe is telling me it's time to move on," Borda told DNAinfo New York on Monday, days after letting her 1,200 "regulars" know her plans to shutter the space at the end of the month.
She said while her landlord hasn't told her of any plans to evict her, and she's still not sure the exact plans for her space, she wanted to get ahead of any changes to give her customers a chance to use up all their classes.
"I can't continue to wait, working with one hand tied behind my back," she added.
Calls to the Queens Pride House were not returned. Her landlord also could not be reached for comment.
Borda opened her first yoga studio on Roosevelt Avenue seven years ago, and moved to the 37th Avenue space after having issues with her original landlord.
Loyal yogis of all skill level have walked through her studio doors, and she's kept a schedule of 20 classes with multiple instructors, she said.
"Year after year it was just a miracle it just stayed open, and I continued," she said. "I said, 'they're coming, I'll stay.'"
Once she broke the news to her "yoga warriors," many went looking around the neighborhood for a new space — emailing all weekend with leads, she said.
But most spaces are asking for too much rent, Borda said, adding they gave it the "old college try."
Still, she plans to continue teaching in the area. This summer, she'll offer free classes in collaboration with Emblem Health, Jackson Heights Green Alliance, Queens Community House and the Renaissance Charter School. There will be Zumba on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the school, and 9 a.m. yoga on Saturdays.
Once June hits she'll add a Thursday evening yoga class at Travers Park.
She plans to ask other spaces in the neighborhood to host classes throughout the week, but doesn't think she'll ever have her own space again.
"Everyone and anyone's gone through those doors in the last seven years we've been in business," she said.
