E.M. Plaza storeowners are working to hang on

East Meadow has many empty storefronts, and East Meadow Plaza is no exception. Some small businesses in the plaza nearly went out of business this year, but continue to hold on, hoping that things will improve.

“We’re going to try to stay,” said Aquarius Cards owner Marcia Krinick. “I think some people think that we’re not here anymore. We didn’t know what was going to happen, but we worked something out with the landlord.”

Krinick started working part-time at Aquarius Cards when her parents bought the store 42 years ago, and took over seven years later. “I’ve seen a lot of stores come and go,” she said of East Meadow Plaza. “It needs a major overhaul. It’s just not a high-traffic shopping center anymore.”

Aquarius Cards is now stocked with merchandise that includes an extensive discounted card selection, Lenox and Precious Moments statues and holiday décor, but Krinick said that her store was starting to look bare recently, when she couldn’t afford to restock it. “I was really sparse before,” she admitted. “This was the worst year.”

The owner of a local dry-cleaning business, who did not give his name, said that he is also just getting by. “I’m paying the bills at the end of the month,” he said, “but if the rent goes up, you’re pretty much out.”

The owner opened his store in 1986 and developed a loyal client base, but he said that his customers are coming in less often because they are wearing their clothes more than once before having them dry-cleaned. “I don’t think anyone is doing great,” he added.

“The economy is affecting everything and everyone,” said East Meadow Chamber of Commerce President Walter Skinner. “Everyone is feeling the pinch. I feel it myself. I’m downsizing.”

Skinner said that high retail taxes are contributing to storeowner woes, because the taxes are much higher than on a home. Part of the problem, he added, is that nearly 35 percent of East Meadow is non-taxable — areas that include Eisenhower Park, Nassau University Medical Center and the Nassau County Correctional Center.

“It’s very important that people shop locally,” Skinner added. “It’s the small businesses who are giving back to the community.”

But Krinick said she thinks that people prefer chain stores, and added that some of her former customers are now shopping for cards at Rite Aid next door. “The chains are the ones they want,” she said.

While some small businesses are just holding on, others are doing well. “It’s harder than it was,” said Rob Sanicola, manager of Rena Marie Jewelers. The store has to sell two to three times the amount of merchandise to match the profits it made in the past, Sanicola said, but it is seeing a “constant flow of new customers.”

The East Meadow jewelry shop, which is owned by his brother, Jim, opened one year ago in East Meadow Plaza, but the family has three other stores, and used to have a location on Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore. “We’ve had a good reputation for many year,” Sanicola said. “We custom-make everything,” he added, which accounts for much of their success.

East Meadow Plaza is aging. New signs and lights have been installed, Krinick said, but the plaza needs a modern overhaul to attract new businesses and shoppers. All of the store owners mentioned that fully occupied storefronts would help attract business, but one 30,600-square-foot property has stood empty for years, only occasionally attracting potential tenants. An empty storefront next to North Shore Fitness, however, was recently leased and will most likely become an Internet café, said Michael Murphy of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate.