BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Community members and elected officials rallied on Friday in front of a longtime Brooklyn business, protesting the shuttering of Jimmy’s Candy Store under a new landlord.
The store that operated for more than 40 years at 406 Tompkins Ave. closed its doors in late May after its owners were evicted following a court ruling in favor of the building’s new deed holder.
James “Jimmy” Leary, who operated the business, joined residents as they held signs along Tompkins Avenue while they chanted, “We’re fired up, can’t take no more” and “Whose community? Our community.”
“We’re standing with Jimmy, who has been an institution in our community,” said Sharonnie Perry, community activist. “In 2015, we’re being treated like slaves in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community where they’re forcing us out of our home, where they’re displacing us, disrespecting us."
While the organizers said the protest was prompted by the shuttering of Jimmy’s Candy Store, the group also spoke out about gentrification, rent hikes and unsafe construction.
The business received a 30-day notice of termination on Sept. 25, 2014, two months after 406 Tompkins Equity LLC bought the building for $1.275 million.
Following the store’s refusal to vacate and months of court proceedings, a judge ordered the business to pay $4,000 in back rent in February.
The court cited an expired lease provided by the LLC, which detailed a monthly rate of $1,000.
Leary, 78, previously said that the new landlord increased rent and never came to pick up payment.
The business was evicted from the shop on May 27, according to court documents.
DNAinfo New York reached out to a public relations firm that represents an attorney for the LLC's managing agent to comment on the rally. Adam Leitman Bailey, another attorney representing the LLC, responded.
"I do not understand how a journalist does not reach out to the lawyer as specified by the client to speak on the matter when I spoke on the same issue with you a few days ago," Bailey wrote in an email.
"I saw the video of the gathering," he continued. "I think less than 40 people does not constitute a protest but you are being sued by us so we can add this to the pot. The 'protest' was about many things and Jimmy’s was one of many topics mentioned including gentrification, 410 Tomkins [sic] Development and Jewish people."
Leitman Bailey has threatened to file a lawsuit against DNAinfo and this reporter on behalf of 406 Tompkins's new landlord based on the landlord's claim that DNAinfo published false information when it reported that the Learys' cat, Sheshe, had been locked inside the candy store for more than a month after the tenants were evicted.
He took to Twitter Thursday night to describe the story as a "complete fabrication."
@TerriCiccone @DNAinfo @NYPD79Pct this story is a complete fabrication. We are filing a lawsuit against DNAinfo. Call me for details
— Adam Leitman Bailey (@AdamLBailey) July 9, 2015"DNAinfo's reporting was a fair and accurate account of a legal dispute based on court records and first-hand sources directly involved in this case," DNAinfo New York Managing Editor Michael P. Ventura said in a statement. "Threatening us with a lawsuit is nothing more than an intimidation tactic that will not prevent us from doing our job, which is to report the news without fear or favor."
Protesters gathered near the shuttered storefront garnered support from Assemblywoman Annette Robinson and a representative from Councilman Robert Cornegy’s office.
The group stopped passing cars and chanted, “Bed-Stuy is not for sale.”
“Enough is enough,” Leary said.
