You are reading

PODCAST: Small Business Owners and Landlords During COVID-19

May 11, 2020 By Christian Murray

The biggest issue for bars and restaurants right now is paying rent.

We talk to Luca DiCiero, founder and CEO of the real estate firm NYSpace Finders in Astoria, about the challenges these businesses face and the willingness of landlords to negotiate with them.

DiCiero has brought many business operators to western Queens, coordinating relationships between landlords and commercial tenants, since he founded his firm 10 years ago.

He says that many landlords and business operators are working together—although “there is some tension” as both parties try to weather the economic crisis.

Many landlords are prepared to negotiate with tenants, he says, although it is very “case by case,”

DiCiero said that he has found that the mom and pop landlords—and there are many throughout Queens– are being more flexible.

“The smaller landlords are a little more attentive, a little more understanding and they try to assist them,” he said. “That building is their baby; their retirement; and they want to get some income from it and don’t want it vacant for six months.”

Bigger landlords, he said, can absorb a vacancy and they know that they will be able to rent it in six months to someone else with a different concept.

“The rent might drop 25 percent but someone will take it,” DiCiero said, who sees a big softening in the market.

However, he said, the big property owners are wary of getting a bad reputation by playing hardball. “The word gets out,” so many are prepared to talk and negotiate.

DiCiero said that many of the small business he has been dealing with have just received federal help through the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides 2.5 months of payroll, that will sustain many for 30 to 60 days.

DiCiero recommends that all business owners reach out to their landlords.

“We strongly advise everyone to communicate– both landlord and tenant,” DiCiero said. “It is in everyone’s best interest.”

Let us know your experience. Post a comment below.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Krishnan leads push to end city contracts with convicted landscaping company owner

Jun. 18, 2025 By Czarinna Andres

A coalition of elected officials and labor leaders is calling on the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to immediately terminate all contracts with Griffin’s Landscaping, a city contractor whose owner, Glenn Griffin, was recently sentenced to two years in federal prison for bribery and illegal dumping as part of a $2.4 million environmental crime scheme.

Teen robber wanted for snatching wallet from senior at SkyView Center in Flushing: NYPD

Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are looking for a young robber who targeted a senior at the Shops at SkyView Center late last month.

The teen was seen on video surveillance just inside the mall entrance at 40-24 College Point Blvd. at around 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, when he spotted a 72-year-old man and approached him from behind and snatched a wallet from his hand, police said Tuesday. The suspect ran out of the mall and was last seen traveling on foot westbound on Roosevelt Avenue toward Citi Field. The senior was not injured during the encounter. His wallet contained just $8 in cash and multiple bank cards.

Six teens wanted for beating and robbing man in daylight robbery in Flushing: NYPD

A man was beaten and robbed by a gang of teenagers in broad daylight on a residential block in Flushing, and the half dozen suspects, who range in age from 13 to 16 years old, remain at large nearly a month after the attack.

The 27-year-old victim was walking past 143-46 37th Avenue just before 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, when two teens approached him from behind and began punching him repeatedly with closed fists in his face, head, and right eye, causing him to fall to the ground, police said. Four other teens joined in and began to strike the victim with an umbrella, hitting him in his right eye.

Former NYS Assembly candidate from Flushing charged with wire fraud: Feds

Flushing resident Dao Yin was arrested on Friday the 13th and charged with wire fraud in Brooklyn federal court for allegedly stealing more than $160,000 in campaign matching funds from New York State taxpayers during his failed attempt as a Democratic candidate for the New York State Assembly in 2024.

Yin is accused of reporting false campaign donations — including forged signatures of purported contributors — to secure matching funds. The 62-year-old Yin was arraigned Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon after a criminal complaint was unsealed that alleged he registered his campaign committee with the New York State Public Campaign Finance Program and submitted fraudulent forms and obtained approximately $162,800 in public matching funds as he challenged Assembly Member Ron Kim in last year’s Democratic primary.