‘This was about $35,000.’ Williamsbridge business owner fights to rebuild after fire
All 11 storefronts remain boarded up. So far, only a driving school has relocated, moving a few blocks away.
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Business owners are trying to pick up the pieces after a row of stores in Williamsbridge was given vacate orders in March due to a fire.
News 12 is now learning that the fire was an accident from electrical wiring.
News 12 caught up with Solid Rock Printing owner Nicholas Aklassou as he was walking through what remained of the shop. He was looking to see what, if anything, could be saved.
“This was about $35,000,” Aklassou said, pointing to a machine he bought less than a year ago that is now unusable.
The loss is one of many stemming from the March 6 fire that tore through a block of stores on East Gun Hill Road. Aklassou said his printing shop had operated there for 29 years.
“This is where I put my whole life,” he said. “It has not been easy for me. All of a sudden, my financial income just got cut off.”
All 11 storefronts remain boarded up. So far, only a driving school has relocated, moving a few blocks away.
Despite the damage, Aklassou is still trying to serve customers.
“We’re still in business, but it’s not like before,” he said.
For now, he is working out of a friend’s shop, using whatever equipment he can while waiting on insurance.
“To rebuy everything, $150,000-plus would not be enough,” he said.
Aklassou added that insurance will not come close to covering even half of his losses.
“I’m lost. I don’t know my left from my right,” he said.
With a long road ahead, he hopes to rebuild what he spent decades creating.
