Small business owners suffering in the fight for Harvey money

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - You can't exactly say business at Three Brothers Bakery on south Braeswood is booming. They're  surviving, not thriving. They survived the hurricane, but the aftermath is killing them.

"We're in a financially devastated area because I've heard only about thirty percent of the people live here now. We lost about 70% of the people." says co-owner Janice Jucker.

Along Braeswood, houses stand vacant and entire apartment complexes have been leveled. They're luckier that some other businesses that share their small shopping plaza. The dry cleaner is struggling. A shoe repair place closed, as did A.J Sapers Practice.

"I love the location. I love the city. I wanted to stay here. This was my identity for forty years," he says.

On Tuesday, activists flooded the County Commissioners meeting urging them to spend Harvey recovery bonds money in lower income neighborhoods. The representative for the mayors of the cities in Harris County urged them to spend the the money in neighborhoods with lots of flooded areas.

The battle lines are drawn. The Harris County Flood District is coming up with spending guidelines and criteria. These owners hope businesses and those that have suffered damage and loss of a customer base and the people they employ aren't collateral damage in the fight.

"The one segment of the recovery problem that gets left behind is small businesses. We work hard as we should to get people back in in their homes and their apartments and pay their mortgages and rents. What happens if their employer goes out of business?" asks Jucker.