In The Key, a women's shoe and clothing store on the commercial strip of Fordham Road in the Bronx, they have hung up a sign that no shopkeeper ever wants to see: "Store Closing."

The reason for the closing, according to Elazari Gutiérrez, one of the managers, is that sales have fallen to an unsustainable level.

"This store used to make a lot of money, but over the last few months sales have slumped and the owner decided to let the business go," said Gutiérrez. "In this economic crisis, people don't have money to spend," she added.

In the Bronx, like in the other boroughs of New York City, small businesses are disappearing, according to research carried out last month by the office of Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY).

The representative's report revealed that out of 1,156 stores visited in the six commercial hubs of the Bronx, 9.1 percent (105 stores) have shut down or are in the process of closing. This percentage is much higher than in the rest of the country, where, on average, between four percent and seven percent of stores are unoccupied.

New York City has more than 200,000 small businesses, which represent 66 percent of private sector jobs.

Out of the total, 96 percent have less than 50 employees.

On the commercial strip of Fordham Road, out of 213 visited stores, the report found 17 closed or about to close (almost eight percent).

Representative Weiner said, "When the economy has the flu, small businesses catch pneumonia. Too many community businesses that are the backbone of the city's economy have been hit hard by the crisis," said Weiner.

The representative said that the $730 million from the economic stimulus package, set aside for granting loans to businesses throughout the nation via the Small Business Administration, "will help small businesses and will create and save more than 90,000 jobs in the city."

Nick Lugo, president and CEO of the New York chapter of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that the closing of many small businesses in the Bronx and other boroughs is due to the recession.

"Small businesses operate within a very small profit margin, and they are the first to be affected by the economic crisis," said Lugo. "What I recommend is that they tighten their budgets until they get through this storm," he added.