Pair of Petitions Surface in Support of F+S Tires

Locals have rallied in support of F + S Tires, circulating two petitions in an attempt to spread the word about the 26-year-old business that could be permanently closed because of stiff penalties from a city Buildings inspector.

The first petition, sitting on a barrel in front of the shuttered business at Fulton and S. Oxford streets, is below a poster reading “Save Our Shop.”

“Fulton Street was a risky place to open an honest business [in 1985], but we saw our chance,” reads a plea directed at Borough President Marty Markowtiz from the three Haitian-born Joseph brothers. “We believed that with enough hard work we could make the success here that we left our native Haiti to find.”

As of Monday afternoon there were some 19 signatures on the papers in front of the tire store, which was because a Department of Buildings inspector declared that the certificate of occupancy for the building did not allow for that type of business — though it had been operation for 26 years.

One of the petition organizers, Schellie Hagan, said that her group had already gathered roughly 300 signatures.

“This is the fastest petition I’ve ever been involved in,” Hagan said.

A spokesman for Markowitz, Mark Zustovich, said the borough president was looking into the Joseph brothers' situation.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Letitia James has started her own online petition in support of the business.

“Long-term business owners such as the Joseph brothers have their certification issues with DOB and continue running their business,” said Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokeswoman for James, D-Fort Greene.

In addition to the citation regarding the certificate of occupancy for the building — which the Joseph’s own — the city also fined the brothers for accumulated rubbish, inadequate support beams in the basement, and the lack of a sprinkler system.

But rumors are swirling that the shop’s desirable location on Fulton Street may have had something to do with the attention it recently received from inspectors from the Fire and Buildings departments.

In fact, Fequiere Joseph said in an that he was regularly receiving pushy phone calls from strangers asking him if he had put his building on the market.

As several people walked up and signed the petition, talk turned to the significance of the tire shop being shut down for good.

“If it can happen to someone who owns a business for 26 years then nobody is safe,” said Keith Lewis, who owns B2 Gear next door to the shop. “I think people should really get involved.”