I revisit some of the small business operators who were threatened by downtown Brooklyn redevelopment last year, and find that many have now been forced out entirely:

Jeff Gargiulo’s e-mail address still says “BagelGuys,” but he’s no longer a bagel guy. Not since the day last year that he got an unexpected eviction notice from his landlord, who said his nine-year-old store on Willoughby Street in downtown Brooklyn was slated to be demolished to make way for a condo tower.

Thousands of Gargiulo’s customers signed petitions, but all it got him was a three-month stay of execution, after which he sold his equipment — at “10 cents on the dollar,” he says — and is now unemployed… [read more]