Jonathan Calixto

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Dec 30, 2025, 6:19 AM

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Updated

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The Allerton International Merchants Association has been supporting businesses on Allerton Avenue since 2012.
On Tuesday, Gene DeFrancis, executive director of the association, showed News 12 some of the businesses that make up the community.

“They are the structure of our community. They're the backbone of it. So if they don't do well, the community doesn't do well," he said.

Over 200 businesses can be found throughout 15 blocks from Laconia Avenue to Bronx Park East. Among those businesses are some that have been passed down from one generation to the next, like the Allerton Fish Market.

"Being a small business is very hard. But, I see the effort of our parents to keep this business and I will try as much," said Ariana Cisneros, manager of the fish market.

Her parents began the family business 15 years ago. She's been working consistently in the market for the last eight years.

DeFrancis said COVID-19 forced some businesses to close their doors. He said the pandemic played a factor in considering which stores to welcome in the community.

"We don't see it as much as we did before the pandemic, where people were going out just to get out. They’re ordering Uber now a little bit more or they're staying home or in their homes, and we want to get them out into the community - walk up and down the neighborhood," he said.

Blocks down is a new restaurant called Mezamix Shwarma. The business owner, Musttafa De Los Santos, said he saw a window of opportunity in the avenue to showcase his Dominican and Muslim culture.

"That's why we bring this restaurant to Allerton. Because we have the different cultures over here," he said.

The Merchants Association told News 12 that this year, they opened three new businesses. Their goals for next year include infrastructure maintenance and welcoming new businesses into the community.