Friday, August 8, 2014

Save Subway Inn

As we recently heard, Subway Inn, the beloved dive bar by Bloomingdale's since 1937, has been given the ax by the building's new owner, World-Wide Real Estate Group. The building is scheduled to be demolished, possibly along with its iconic neon sign, for luxury condos. As of now, they're being forced out by August 20.

But Subway Inn is not going down without a fight. They've started a petition and an Indiegogo campaign to help pay for lawyers.



"Save Subway Inn! For our Neighborhood and our Family," reads the Indiegogo page. "We believe that New York City is about more than rich investors gobbling up small family businesses to make a quick buck thereby destroying the integrity of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. For more than 40 years -- the ENTIRE Salinas family has poured its heart and soul into this neighborhood landmark."

"We call on lawmakers and concerned New Yorkers to STAND UP to these actions, and to stop World-Wide Real Estate from destroying our home by ripping it away from those who helped build this city -- and who would never be able to afford the multi-million dollar condos that they are planning to put in place of a neighborhood treasure."

Please sign the petition, consider a donation, and pass the word. Watch the story of the Subway Inn and Salinas family here:



If you would like to make a plea to the source, the CEO of the World Wide real estate group, the new owner of Subway Inn, is Victor Elmaleh. His corporate contact information is:

World Wide Holdings Corp.
150 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10022
212-500-7217



12 comments:

Ancestor said...

Thanks for starting this. I drank a Coke at the Subway Inn one hot summer day thirty year ago. It should be there to ease the thirst of other hometown NYers for many years to come

Anonymous said...

Do they have any legal standing? Does giving 10 grand to some lawyer really mean they are.going to stay? I guess they can't afford to move? Did some lawyer sell them a fantasy to collect a fee?

Anonymous said...

You know what doesn't ring true here? It's that I am SURE the Subway Inn never lost an ounce of sleep over what was happening in their beloved city these past 20 years or so until it "happened to them".
I'm sure they even made some decent "coin" and only when the awful situation of "modern New York" messed with their bottom line, now they go crying up a storm.
I've seen this time and again by various business and residents.

Unknown said...

Unfortunately, unless they can prove that they offer something unique as a New York institution and that without it the city would be un-able to function, or they had big politicians willing to go to bat for it and make it a public issue, they don't have a leg to stand on. I feel sorry for them and wish they owned the building, but hopefully they can relocate to a more hip neighborhood that would really benefit from the atmosphere they provide. Wonder When this high rise real estate bubble is going to burst? How long will banks loan money for all this speculative development? Oh...and when it all crashes are we going to bail them out again and blame all the problems on greedy unions? I don't know, but history does have that habit of repeating itself.

Anonymous said...

They dont have the money for a lawyer? I'm just sick of business begging online. They are worse than the crazies on the train. I'm sure they did well over the years. Just move somewhere else. This city is now the beg apple. The vagrants- the fundraisers on the street- all these businesses. People in NYC used to be more self reliant. There is no shame or embarrassment in begging anymore. I've been to this bar a number of times. Not going back if they move. Funny how their bartender ripped on a guy for panhandling. Who's the bum now?

HotAlexFromTroy said...

Unless I'm not paying enough attention, save for St Mark's Bookshop this is the only other time I have seen a petition to save a business.

I wish I had seen something like this for say, Paradise Cafe or Rainbows and Triangles or any of the mom and pop shops on the stretch between 17th and 18th on the east side of 9th avenue.

I think petitions are not always but can be very potent.

Rex Merritt said...

The Subway Inn is going under? Sad, but inevitable in today's New York. Look at Roseland. The city's atmospheric relics are becoming scarce. Disappearances like the Inn's once happened at relatively glacial paces. Not so in the current money-motored city. Even before the Times article made its address hip for a quick minute, and when the Barbizon still thrived around the corner, work occasionally let me bend a lunchtime elbow in there.

Patrick said...

"We believe that New York City is about more than rich investors gobbling up small family businesses to make a quick buck thereby destroying the integrity of the Upper East Side of Manhattan."

Yeah, we wouldn't want rich people to destroy the integrity of the UES. Are these people serious? Nearly the entire island of Manhattan is off limits to anyone without big bucks or who doesn't want to spend what little money they do have to live in a shoebox.

laura r. said...

maybe they dont have lawyers fee? why are people accusing them of being cheap? also there is no law that the landlord has to renew their lease. am i correct?

Ed said...

I've seen the comments on Grub Street, Eater, and Gothamist. Eater has a tough crowd, but I agree that this news is hardly a surprised and the place has lost something over the years, as I think Jeremiah noted on one of his earlier posts.

The thing is, if you like bars, there is PJ Clarke's and the new place down the block from PJ Clark's on 55th Street, and otherwise nothing. Only douchebars and fratbars for something like a twenty block radius. Some people on Gothamist mentioned Jimmy's Corner, but that is way crosstown and thirteen blocks south. So you pretty much got suburban style drinking in a big chunk of Manhattan, in that if you want to drink, you are doing it at home.

Anonymous said...

Theres a lot of stupid in this thread..

Anonymous said...

Dear Jeremiah:
According to an article I read on the Village Voice website they are now claiming racism is a motive behind their being forced to close. Here is the quote from Tessa Stuarts article "The owners family, who are Hispanic, believe the eviction may be racially motivated" Yet you didn't post my comment about that here. Why? I didn't make that up and sorry if it makes you uncomfortable but its the reality. I find it regrettable that they would go to this length but apparently they have. Perhaps they can sue the World Wide Group or use negative publicity to force them into giving the bar a reprieve. Either way this is part of the story and perhaps a tactic we'll see more of as time goes by.