Another Unofficial Post Office Opening in Tottenham

MP David Lammy (second from right) cuts a ribbon at the Tottenham High Road Post Office. Council adviser Chris Lane (from left to right), Postmaster Daksha Rao, Councillor Allan Strickland and branch owner Vipin Rao attend the proceedings.

Tottenham MP David Lammy cut an unofficial ribbon for the neighborhood's recently reopened post office Friday. The restored business has been a welcome sight for locals, who had to travel out of the immediate area to get mail for months, after rioters burned the original office in August.

There's a lull, but Tottenham up and running

The streets of Tottenham look busier than they did in the weeks following a riot. The burned post office has been replaced, as have most of the broken windows.

But it's still not quite the Tottenham it once was says, local shop owner Bulent  Huseyin.

Hotspurs Stay Put - Good for Business

Tottenham's 130 year old football club won't be relocating to another borough anytime soon, much to the delight of MP David Lammy, and no doubt Tottenham businesses. Club management pledged to revitalize Haringey after the attempted move to an Olympic Park stadium in East London failed.

'I Love Tottenham' Tales: VIP Sports

VIP Sports' Bulent Huseyin stands outside his recently reopened storefront in Tottenham.

 

The final installment in our series of Tottenham businesses striving to recover from London's August riots. 

VIP Sports

 

The owner of a Tottenham sporting goods shop looks at CCTV footage of the empty street outside. “If I never saw the seconds ticking I would think the camera is frozen,” says Bulent Huseyin, who runs VIP Sports.

The shop raised its damaged shutters and reopened for business this week, three months after a neighborhood protest erupted into rioting. Huseyin expects it will take six months for his customers, mostly young men from the impoverished area, to return in force. But just opening the doors is a start.  

'I love Tottenham' Tales: Pride of Tottenham

Video by BhamUrbanNewsUK

Part three in our series on Tottenham businesses and the riot recovery effort. 

Part III: Pride of Tottenham

The owner of Pride of Tottenham--a pub on the High Road--hasn't had much good news since Aug. 6, when he estimates rioters caused more than £70,000 of damage.

There was one good day of business, says Niche Mufwankolo, when Tottenham Hotspur played arch-rival Arsenal. Other than that the place, like the street itself, has been remarkably dead. 

Now there are reports Haringey Council will exempt those hardest hit by the riots from nearly eight months of the business rates they pay in order to operate.

"I think it might be something very big," Mufwankolo said. "But I haven't heard about it from them yet."

'I Love Tottenham' Tales: Paradise Gems

Paradise Gems owner Steve Moore says Tottenham High Road "just seems quieter" since the riots

A second installment in our ongoing tale of businesses in Tottenham fighting to recover from the riots. 

Part II: Paradise Gems

On the morning of 7 Aug. jeweler Steve Moore walked to his workplace of the last 21 years on Tottenham High Road. The rubble was still smoking. After a night of rioting, Paradise Gems was gone, its safes buried, decades-worth of moulds destroyed.

Moore estimates he lost more than any individual trader in the borough--but, he says, don’t believe the destruction made him want to pack up and leave.

Haringey Council Press Release: Tottenham Business Rate Relief

Haringey Council  PR 4226    25/10/2011    [For Immediate Release]

Riot-hit firms offered a business rate reduction

In a huge boost to riot-hit firms Haringey Council is offering hundreds of traders a reduction on their business rates to help them cope with lost trade and damage.

'I Love Tottenham' Tales: The Eye Pod

A banner from the 'I Love Tottenham' Campaign'

Everyone in the North London neighborhood of Tottenham agrees life has not returned to normal. But the riots that erupted in the area this August impacted businesses differently.

This week and next we’ll look at interviews with five area entrepreneurs from the past week, as they battle to recover from changes and damage to the borough.

Part I: The Eye Pod

In some ways the Eye Pod was lucky. John Se, who co-owns the Tottenham eye-ware store, says the business sustained only minor damage to a sign and shutters when looters took over the High Street on 6 Aug.

But he and his business partner are still worried about the future. Along with street traffic, sales fell after the riot and haven’t recovered. If they don’t improve, the shop will close.

“Of course we’re worried,” Se said. “It’s not really showing signs of going back to normal.”

Violence Overshadows Tottenham Riot Recovery in Local Media

The Tottenham Journal led with this headline, "Butcher killed with own knife," in the 6 October edition. Local crimes, primarily a series of stabbings, captured media attention during the last few weeks, while riot recovery efforts didn't get much press.

Some Funds, Little Hope --Tottenham Recovery Update

Riot relief money is getting to Tottenham High Street businesses, but some say the impact isn't enough. 

Pride of Tottenham pub owner Niche Mufwankolo claims about £4,000 in government aid has been transferred into his bank account. 

More fromTottenham Riot Recovery Meeting

Additional material from Wednesday evening’s Tottenham Traders Partnership meeting:

It was much less contentious than many of the community's recent gatherings, said TTP chair Moaz Nanjurwany. He opened the meeting by acknowledging the difficulty of “what we’ve been through in the last few weeks.”

Tottenham Traders and Politicos Talk Recovery

Tottenham officials promised effective aide before listening to local business owners demand greater post-riot relief at a Tottenham Traders Partnership meeting last night.

Few proprietors said they received initial funds from insurers or government agencies, while several of the nearly 90 people in attendance claimed they continue waiting for assistance of any kind. Foremost on many minds were pending council tax fees.

Project #1: Tottenham Riot Recovery

Businesses in Tottenham are still waiting for economic relief promised by local and citywide government agencies, seven weeks after the London riots began there. Earlier in September I spoke to Tottenham pub owner Niche Mufwankolo, who said, despite assurances that help is on the way, he has yet to receive the first £1. 

"People think that we are back to normal, but we are not back," he said. "We are sinking."

During a brief conversation yesterday afternoon he said the situation had not changed. This project's goal is to find out if recovery assistance is being delayed, and if so, why.

I've written previously about the neighborhood's reaction to the riot's for msnbc.com.

More to follow.