An iconic, decades-old Brooklyn ice cream shop is set to be evicted this summer – leaving neighbors and longtime customers distraught over the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
“We have been here since May 1984 – 40 years,” said Anthony “Tony” Fongyit, 74, the owner of Scoops Ice Cream Parlor on Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
“A lot of people have been upset. It’s heartbreaking right now to see what’s going on with this lease situation,” he told The Post.
Fongyit was ordered to vacate the storefront within four months when his landlord brought him to civil court earlier in May, following about five years of operating without a proper lease from the owner.
Now as a possible eviction looms this August, Fongyit is hoping to find a way to keep serving the community he’s called home for decades.
“This is where I’m at right now, trying to get a lease,” he said. “There’s a lot of changes in the community. Gentrification is going on. There’s a lot of stores taking a hit right now where the rent is going up very high.”
Scoops, which serves vegan ice cream as well as vegan food and various groceries, has been described as a Brooklyn “landmark” by residents drawn to the shop for years.
“It’s a pillar in the community,” said 66-year-old neighbor Erna, who has been a Scoops customer for decades.
“In this community we need something like this. You know, a lot of people – multicultural – everybody comes here,” she said, adding the eviction was a sign of the times in the rapidly changing neighborhood.
“Of course it [signals change],” she said. “Most definitely gentrification, and it’s going to be a change. That will be taking away from us. That’s not good.”
After years operating in comfort on Flatbush, Scoops’ building was bought by a new landlord in 2015. Four years later, the new owners tried to evict Fongyit without explanation, according to Eater, but following public outcry he managed to stick around by paying rent on a month-by-month basis.
Following the May eviction order, a Change.org petition was launched to push the landlord to allow Scoops to stay. It amassed over 3,200 signatures in days.
“This is one of the last few gems we have on Flatbush, that we need to preserve,” said 43-year-old customer Jay. “You know some place you have those historic buildings – this is a historic establishment in the community.”
“He pushes healthy eating in an under served community. He’s been here for 40 years,” Jay said, calling Fongyit and Scoops “a huge staple in the community.
“These are the people we need to protect.”
Kasien Thompson, a 60-year-old regular at Scoops, thinks the landlord is trying to oust Fongyit so they can sell the building and cash in – without regard for how it affects the local community.
“If there are trying to get him out, then it seems like they want someone else to get the place and raise the rent,” Thompson said, adding that Fongyit shouldn’t give up easy.
“He shouldn’t leave, he should fight.”
The building owner could not immediately be reached.