Luis, the grocer, needs some help in dealing with a Dept. of Sanitation fine. Joe, the pharmacist, could use some assistance with the new tax forms. A group of shopkeepers down the block wants to do something about the rampant litter and lack of parking in the area.

Different people, diverse interests. But these entrepreneurs all have one thing in common: a lack of spare time. They are simply too busy with their respective businesses to take the time to conduct the extensive research involved in dealing with issues like sanitation, tax and employment laws or parking regulations.

Enter the local chambers of commerce, also known as merchants’ associations. These organizations perform the tasks that may be impossible for individual entrepreneurs to handle.

"If businesses have a problem they call us. If necessary, we contact political officials on their behalf," said Fred Mazzarello, president of the College Point Board of Trade.

Chambers of commerce work as cheerleaders for local shopping areas. Unique chamber programs include this magazine put out by the Forest Hills Chamber.

Acting as "go-betweens," the chambers also work with businesses and city agencies such as the Department of Sanitation. "We explain to merchants how to deal with the [DOS]," said Bob Richards, president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, which has about 300 members. "Sometimes the requirements become too burdensome, and we’re able to convey the realities."

According to Richards, government has an enormous impact on how businesses operate. "It especially impacts small businesses, which have no staff and lack the time to stay abreast of regulations," he said.

The chambers also serve to rally a dedicated army of supporters when they spot a potential threat to their membership. In one such example, the Giuliani administration proposed closing a municipal parking lot on Bell Boulevard in Bayside.

"Members were going out with petitions and fighting the closing," said Jack Fried, co-chairman of the Bell Boulevard Merchants’ Association (BBMA). "The Mayor finally backed down. Merchants were affected directly, and they came out."

The approximately 200-strong BBMA also took part in eliminating the much-hated Commercial Rent Tax. "We sent letters to elected officials and [Giuliani] asking them to support the discontinuing of the rent tax."

Businesses come and go. Small apothecaries and dry-goods stores give way to chain drug retailers and massive general stores; gigantic factories and steel mills close and are converted into shopping centers and department stores. This keeps the chamber membership in a state of constant flux.

"There are a lot of twists and turns," said Richards. "Before, we used to have large companies like Ideal Toys and Gertz Department Store. The business has changed a great deal in the last 25 years. Different types of businesses have come in. There is a greater service industry."

In the face of consolidation, the banking business has also changed the chambers’ membership rolls. "Consolidation has also been difficult for all chambers," Richards explained. "Whereas they had seven members, they now have only four."

This same feeling was echoed by Myra Baird Herce, of the Flushing Chamber of Commerce and Business Association, concerning the close of the landmark Woolworth’s variety store on Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

"The Woolworth’s closing has been a bummer for us," Herce, the association’s events director, said. "People were very dependent on Woolworth’s. The community at large has been very sad about it. At this point in time, we’re holding our breath to see what comes in."

Although she acknowledged that some of the old Woolworth’s stores were being turned into Foot Locker shoe stores – such as on Austin Street in Forest Hills – Herce didn’t know whether that would be the case with the Flushing store.

"You hear rumors, but you can’t operate on rumors," she said. "It is an ideal site because you have a captive audience with the subway. It’s a fabulous piece of property."

But one store closing doesn’t mean death to a sector. According to Herce, the new Duane-Reade drug store that opened last winter across the street from the old Woolworth’s couldn’t have come at a better time. "They filled a vacuum," she added, recalling the closing of a CVS pharmacy a few months before. "Again, that corner is right by a subway. It’s very simple to pick up whatever product you need from the Duane-Reade on your way to the train," said Herce.

Public relations also justifies the existence of the chambers. They are, in essence, immense PR firms that serve to promote the commercial strips in their localities.

"Our concept is to promote the name of Forest Hills as a shopping destination," said Chris Collett, president of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce. "We’re also trying to highlight various segments of the market by focusing on different aspects such as health care, financial services, restaurants, boutiques, etc."

This promotion has included the quarterly Forest Hills Magazine, published jointly by the chamber and the Queens Tribune. The glossy magazine is distributed throughout Queens in The New York Times and the Queens Tribune as part of their campaign to bring shoppers from all over the area to Forest Hills.

This publicity campaign seems to have paid off. Austin Street, Forest Hills’ central shopping concourse, is experiencing a major growth in new properties, and the chamber has tripled its membership. "Stores are there that weren’t there last year," noted Collett, whose chamber presently has over 225 members. "We think it’s one of the best shopping areas in New York City. There are several hundred shops, lots of very nice restaurants, and it’s also a very easy area to get to."

One of the more notable examples of the Austin Street expansion is the 32,000-square-foot arts-and-crafts store known as Creativity, which opened earlier this month. So far, the area’s largest store, Creativity is about 50 percent larger than its neighbor, Barnes & Noble, which covers approximately 20,000 square feet.

Austin Street aside, Forest Hills seems to be experiencing a great boom. The section of Metropolitan Avenue from Ascan Avenue to Woodhaven Boulevard has no empty storefronts. North Shore University Hospital is spending over $30 million in renovations of the old LaGuardia Hospital on 66th Road. A new shopping mall is planned on the site of the old UA Forest Hills movie house. "The long and short of it is that it’s a hot area," Collett said.

Often, increases in business leads to conflicts with area residents. The chambers then step in to remedy these disputes and hammer out a settlement.

Of Flushing’s Main Street, for instance, some complain that the increase in Asian restaurants is causing an increase in improperly disposed food waste, grease-spoiled sidewalks and offensive aromas.

"We still get complaints about the odors, but a lot of restaurants have tried to upgrade the area," said Herce.

She added that the Flushing Chinese Business Association has tried working with existing businesses and there is an ongoing effort to help the restaurants understand what their responsibilities are.

"We want them to be good neighbors, and we want them to do well, but they must realize that there is a constituency out there who find certain odors offensive," said Herce.

Most of the chambers charge dues to their members to fund the numerous meetings, social gatherings and newsletters. While each chamber dictates its own fee policy, the usual formula is a sliding scale amount – paid yearly – based on various factors, including the size of the business and the amount of workers.

Payment differences aside, the chambers agree on one thing: It makes sense.

"It’s very beneficial," said Mazzarello. "Anybody in business is foolish not to belong to an organization that is looking out for their welfare."