Tish Defends F + S Tires

A local councilwoman has joined the fight to save one of Fulton Street’s oldest businesses.

On Wednesday Councilwoman Letitia James sounded the alarm on behalf of the owners of F + S Tires, which was abruptly shut down last week after the Department of Buildings declared its building unsuitable for a tire shop — despite  26 years of business.

“While changing tires on their South Oxford Street corner, the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood has changed around them,” said James, D-Fort Greene. “I appreciate the will and desire it took for this family to achieve their American dream, and I will help the them maintain their dream.”

The Haitian-born Joseph brothers own the shop, which they the neighborhood became prime territory for real estate agents.

Their business operated in relative anonymity for years, but in recent months faced increasing scrutiny from Fire and Buildings inspectors. Then last week a Buildings inspector with a whopping $24,000 in fines related to improper supports beams, the lack of a sprinkler system, and garbage in the basement.

To make matters worse, the inspector shocked the brothers by telling them the Certificate of Occupancy for their building did not allow for a tire shop.

“I don’t see why they did this. I pay my taxes, pay my bills — I don’t have any problems with anybody!” Fequiere Joseph said the day after he was shut down.

But Joseph sounded more hopeful on Wednesday, now that he had hired a lawyer in the lead-up to his violation hearing on May 16.

“We’re going to see if we can fight it, try to open up again,” Joseph said. “A $24,000 violation? That’s a lot of money! We don’t have that.”