Curb-Jumping Bus Crash Turned PLG Juice Bar Into 'Horror Film'

PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS, NY — Tiffany Waddell walked into her beloved and newly renovated juice bar Monday and found a completely unrecognizable shop.

"It's a complete disaster," Waddell said. "It looked like a horror film."

Waddell is the proud owner of Blends By Us, a juice bar on Clarkson and Rogers avenue that was decimated after a school bus jumped the curb and smashed into her building earlier this month.

Fortunately there were no injuries linked to the May 5 crash — and no kids had been on board the school bus — but collateral damage has changed the lives of the building's inhabitants.

Two businesses and four apartments were told by the city they cannot return until fundamental repairs are made, according to the owner and the Buildings departments.

The damage forced one couple to leave New York City entirely. For Waddell, it has meant the destruction of years of hard and meaningful work.

"I buried my shop on Monday and I've been so, so hurt ever since," Waddell said. "I built that space from nothing."

No, This Is Not A Movie Set

Days after the catastrophic crash, passersby who stopped to take photos of the large school bus sticking out a building asked Hansel Lynch if someone was filming a movie, the property manager told Patch.

"People's lives are totally pulled up," Lynch said. The aftermath has been an emotional "nightmare."

The nightmare begins with a buckling structural column inside Yeimmy Beauty Salon that caused the bathroom and kitchen floor in the apartment above to droop, according to the Buildings department.

Inspectors also found cracks in a third-floor apartment above the salon, and filed a full vacate order on the building.

Residents and business owners were only this week allowed back to collect their things from the wreckage and say goodbye to their neighbors, according to Lynch and a city rep.

With emergency reinforcements in place, property managers Wednesday prepared to tear down and rebuild the building's facade — a process that could take up to six weeks. After that, the interior will be completely rebuilt.

Residents' leases were terminated, security deposits returned, and the city has provided significant help, Lynch said.

But the future of Blends By Us and neighboring salon Yeimmy hang in the balance as the businesses and property owners handle their insurance, Lynch said.

And it wasn't easy for him to say farewell to people who feel like family.

"The financial piece will come together," Lynch said. "But there's also an emotional side."

One couple, who lived in the building for two years, packed up Wednesday and immediately hit the road back home to West Virginia — and Lynch is anxiously awaiting a call to confirm the couple's safe return home.

Another resident displaced by the crash has lived in the building for 15 years and at one time owned the deli on the corner, Lynch said.

Lynch told Patch Wednesday, "Today was a hard day for us."

'I Gave My Dreams A Try'

Waddell won't ever forget handing out free juice and soups to her community at the height of the pandemic, when an estimated 2 million New Yorkers faced the prospect of worrying hunger.

"Don't be afraid," Waddell told her customers. "We're here together."

Blends By Us was born out of the coronavirus crisis and inspired by people determined to stay healthy, fit and strong, Waddell told Patch.

It was 2020, and Waddell was at the beginning of a fitness journey that saw her exercising in the only safe place she could find: the park.

Waddell brought her then-3-year-old son to the park to exercise and eventually joined forces with other locals hoping to get in shape.

The workout squad started frequenting local juice shops to celebrate their successes, but as the group grew, so did the tab.

Waddell already had a juicer at home, so she offered to make the juices herself and the group pitched in with groceries.

"They loved it," she said. "That was Blends By Us."

Selling juices to friends and family out of her home, Waddell "hustled" and saved for a storefront, which she opened on Clarkson Avenue in 2020 — a difficult year for the neighborhood and the world.

But Waddell grew her customer base over the years and ultimately she decided to sink some cash into a renovation including a new paint job and a permanent menu by a local artist.

Then the bus hit.

The loss was overwhelming — but Waddell and her "brilliant" young son are still making juice and haven't given up hope. Neither has the neighborhood.

Friends and loyal customers have started crowdsourcing funding to help get Blends By Us back in the juice business. A GoFundMe for Blends By Us had raised over $3,800 Wednesday, under a week after it was started.

Georgie's Five & Dime, a general store on Rogers Avenue near Fenimore Street, is hosting a "pay what you wish" sidewalk sale on Sunday to benefit Blends By Us.

Waddell said her customers efforts make her feel "so blessed."

Despite the pain of the bus crash, Waddell has no regrets on chasing her dreams.

"Give your dreams a try," Waddell said. "I gave my dreams a try."