Castro family's bouncing back into furniture biz

Remember those TV ads of an adorable 6-year-old Bernadette Castro bouncing on a Castro Convertible? She is no longer 6 exactly, but, Castro said last week, she is going back into the furniture business, even if she would no longer really like to bounce on a sofa bed.

In an exclusive interview, Castro said the Castro family hopes to be out by May 1 with a "product," which she declined to further identify.

"The family is relaunching," Castro said. "When you start a business, whether it's a start-up or relaunch, you have big dreams and big goals. But we're starting with a product we think will interest the consumer who is more space-conscious than ever."

Castro, of Lloyd Harbor, has put up a Web site, www.castroconvertiblesusa.com, (Click here to connect.) which says boldly, "Castro Convertibles is once again open for business."

Not quite, Castro admits, explaining that the statement is "a teaser."

The plan, said Castro, who was state parks commissioner in the Pataki administration, is to make the product available online or to link it up with a big-box retailer. There are no plans, she said, to reopen Castro Convertible showrooms.

The Web site asks people to share their memories of Castro's father, Bernard, who started the furniture company in the Depression year of 1931. There are similarities to today, she said. There is a deep recession, and people are returning to live with family, as they did then.

"When I went into politics I never imagined myself going back into the furniture industry," Castro said. "It's almost spiritual how I'm returning to it."