When Small Businesses Soar
Maggie Biunno
Staff Writer
The 23.7 square miles of the Big Apple may provide an overload of variety to tourists and locals. At just 4.2 square miles, the village of Hempstead, 25 miles east of New York City, provides residents and surrounding communities a chance to indulge in endless opportunities without leaving Long Island.
Staff Writer
The 23.7 square miles of the Big Apple may provide an overload of variety to tourists and locals. At just 4.2 square miles, the village of Hempstead, 25 miles east of New York City, provides residents and surrounding communities a chance to indulge in endless opportunities without leaving Long Island.
Hempstead is home to more than 100 attorneys, according to a business database of New York state businesses.
Leo Fernandez, the president-elect of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, who has previously as vice president since 1997, explained that the town is huge for attorneys for many reasons -- 99 Main St. is the address of the district court for the county, and there are four or five Nassau County agencies the village d and it also is home to the Nassau County traffic violation bureau.
“Anyone with a ticket in Nassau County has to come here to pay it,” Fernandez said, in a telephone interview from his office at Allstate Insurance Co.
He explained that the close proximity to the bus and train station allows other attorneys from Manhattan to visit easily.
Elaine Nolan, the owner of a realty company for 35 years in Hempstead, said that attorneys are also drawn to the reasonable rent, good office space and plenty of parking available in Hempstead.
The database also reveals that there are 73 businesses related to automobiles, varying from accessories to service, as well as dealers and parts and supplies.
Like other Long Islanders, Hempstead residents rely heavily on their cars, especially for commuting to work. While the average one-way travel time for a United States citizen is just 27.4 minutes, an individual from Hempstead could spend an extra 6.4 minutes each way in their car, according to statistics.
On average, in the United States and in Hempstead, driving alone to work is the preferred way to travel over carpooling and mass transit.
Next down the line in popularity would be the 54 beauty salons and several suppliers that are scattered in Hempstead.
Destiny, manager of Destiny Hair Design on Fulton Avenue in Hempstead, the most concentrated street of business in the town, does not feel that the abundant amount of salons affects his clients. While reluctant to give much information, he did say that as manager for five years, customers are “very satisfied” with his hair services.
Destiny also added that individuals come in to his salon from Suffolk County, Queens and Brooklyn and he does not do anything extraordinary to compel these customers to stay as customers.
Chris Greer has had Chris Greer Hairdresser on Franklin Street since 1954.
“No it [the large number of hair salons in Hempstead] never bothered me,” Greer said. While he did not admit it was due to these salons consuming the area, Greer said that his shop is mostly full of socializing each day and not really any customers.
Other salons, such as Ultimate Hair Sensations, on Fulton Avenue, seem to not be suffering either -- their associates were too busy to answer a few questions with other phone lines ringing off the hook in the background.
Nolan believed that these beauty salons do not experience overwhelming competition because many people get their nails done and everyone needs to get their haircut. Salons stay busy because there is a need for them, Nolan said.
At Elaine Nolan Realty, Nolan does not feel competition from the nearly 60 other realtor companies in Hempstead. “I have a reputation for being a seller,” Nolan said. “I don’t take the listing and sit on it.”
Fernandez said that the only competition that is disruptive comes from bigger companies like Home Depot or Shop-n-Stop, taking out,competively, small hardware and grocery stores.
The food industry offers much ethnic diversity, Fernandez said, that will continue to prosper, offering cheap meals that taste better than ever experienced.
Hempstead brings in individuals from around the area and other parts of New York because of the late-night hours not available in surround communities, like many shops in Garden City that close around 6 p.m., Nolan said. She also added that residents of Queens come because shopping in Hempstead has free parking.
Many streets in Hempstead go on for miles, connecting to the surround towns. Fernandez named just a few as Franklin Street and Hempstead Boulevard. “They all go to the middle of Nassau County, which is Hempstead,” he said.
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