Some Bridgeport business owners say they may have to cut their hours of operation due to the closing of a local housing project.

Dozens of small business owners say their livelihood has depended for decades on the people from the Marina Village Housing Project.

Park Avenue Super Market owner George Dahdal says he is unsure if he can recover from the loss of the housing complex. He says that although he still gets customers from the nearby University of Bridgeport, he has been getting half the business he used to.

"Everybody's hurting because of the lack of business coming in and we all have to pay our bills," he says.

The head of the Bridgeport housing authority, George Lee Byers, says while small business owners may experience short-term losses, their profits should return by early next year as new affordable housing is built in the South End of the city.