To Whom it May Concern,
I am the owner of Chrysanthemum Rare Teas & Flowers. I own the building and initially I rented it to a doctor for six years but then I took it over. In 2012, I opened the shop. We are a tea and flower shop here to serve the community.
Our customers come from all over the place, though I encourage them to buy in their own local area. I will charge a high fee to deliver if out of the area, such as Manhattan or Staten Island. I like to focus more on the neighborhood people. When the weather is good and the delivery is close by, I walk. But if the weather is bad, I have to drive to protect the flowers. If further away I must drive.
Underhill has been changing since COVID, causing traffic jams on Washington Ave. Washington Ave is now busy with traffic but not busy with customers. The streets are so busy it is hard to drive, the people are stuck on the street due to the traffic. Underhill is blocking the car circulation- they can’t get through. When Vanderbilt is shut down, a delivery that could take me a half hour, becomes an hour. It disturbs coverage of my store. I am only one person so when I am out on delivery, no one is here to run the store. My busiest days are Friday and Saturday.
I don’t live nearby so I have to drive to get to the shop every day and I park on the street. I wish the Open Streets was not so many days and so many hours. Some people may enjoy it but it disturbs many others. It creates much more traffic for Washington Avenue and it affects my business. I wish the traffic should be diversified, instead of crammed on Washington Avenue and hurting the businesses here.