QUEENS — Three longtime vacant storefronts on Lefferts Boulevard, which marred the area near Kew Gardens Cinemas and the Long Island Rail Road station, are expected to soon be filled by new businesses.
Among them are a Peruvian restaurant and e-cigarette store, according to a broker familiar with the deal. There will also be a bubble tea shop, according to Harlington Realty.
The real estate company said that the stores signed the lease in January, but it was not clear how soon they will open.
Murray Berger, executive chairman of the Kew Gardens Civic Association, Inc. said that he was "delighted to hear that [the storefronts] are being rented."
"The vacant storefronts are a disaster," he said. "They have been that way for a long time."
But he also said that he was not thrilled that an e-cigarette store was coming to the neighborhood, and pointed out that an awning for the Peruvian restaurant was installed at one of the storefronts several months ago, but the eatery hasn't opened yet.
The three storefronts have been among several empty stores in the neighborhood.
One of their former tenants, who ran a barber store there for 18 years, moved to another storefront in the area about 3 years ago, because he said the rent was $3,200 a month for a 400-square-foot corner store, which he could no longer afford. The new place, he said, was bigger and cheaper.
Harlington Realty declined to disclose how much the new businesses will pay for rent.
