Fear not. The pawnbrokers were only renting out a sliver of their shop. A reader sent in the following shot of the new tenant--no cupcakes, no frozen yogurt, no 7-Eleven. Just a humble barber shop.
I would have missed the antique signage on the 24th St. side, and the strange, sad, lovely windows with their dusty violins, outdated calculators, and unpolished jewelry.
Thanks for reporting this great news about that wonderful holdout!
ReplyDeleteAh yes Jerry--those oh, so sad instruments and cheap electronic equipment in the dusty side window....a neighborhood fixture since I moved here in 1969.
ReplyDeletenice to read some good news, keep reporting.
ReplyDeleteThe store for rent was a check cashing place, separate from the pawn shop. I am glad it is a barber shop and wish them well. I was told the man who owns the building lives in the neighborhood and turned down an offer to sell when they built the big apartment building overhead. Around the corner is the hostel/hotel and the law office. I was told the apartment building would have been even bigger except that they were not allowed to build over Madison Square Station post office in the middle of the block.
ReplyDeletethanks for the info Pat. i love a holdout who makes the condos workaround.
ReplyDeleteI used to live at the old George Washington Hotel, an S.R.O. located on Lex between 23rd and 24th, in the early 90's, and this pawn shop looked exactly the same back then as it does now. And I mean EXACTLY the same. Good for them for holding out, to the point of literally being swallowed by a huge dorm, as you said.
ReplyDeleteScore one for the Good Guys.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming he sold the air rights?
ReplyDeleteHey Caleo, I stayed at the George Washington Hotel in late September of 1970. I just arrived here from Europe and found this to be the only affordable place to stay. In my past experiences in Europe, there was always a laundry basket in the room, which meant the hotel would clean your clothes. I found exactly such a basket in my room and put all my clothes in it. Unfortunately, the hotel considered it a waste basket and not a laundry basket. So on my very first day in NYC I lost all my clothes except the ones on my body. But even then I realized that one day I'd be laughing about this...and laugh I did many many times since then.
ReplyDeleteBefore the advent of the ATM, my dad would use the pawn shop to get quick cash when the banks were closed! He would pawn a camera, then on Monday when the banks opened, get cash and buy back his camera. I figured everyone did it. :)
ReplyDeleteNow we have no fee ATM's at our Pawnshop on 116th street and Lexington if anyone's interested.
ReplyDeleteHTTP://NYC-pawnshops.com/
I just walked past there yesterday. The Gramercy Pawnbrokers had a sign "This store is closed, redeem a pledge at the law office around the corner."
ReplyDelete