By Sara Satullo, Photo: Saed Hindash/lehighvalleylive.com, January 25, 2022
At 17, Cindy Rivas started working at South Bethlehem’s Car Village Title and Notary. Today, the 37-year-old is the owner.
But a proposed 9-story development on the site of her South New Street business has left Car Village’s future in limbo after 46 years on the city’s Southside. She’s been served eviction papers as the storefront she rents is slated for demolition.
“It is stressful,” said Rivas, who grew up in the neighborhood and bought the business in 2012. First her rent jumped from $800 a month to $1,000, then the building sold. Looking for a new location has been tough, with some commercial landlords in the area charging $3,000 or more a month for first-floor commercial space. It’s a tall order in a community with a median household income around $40,000 and a poverty rate of nearly 28%.
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