photo: Andrew Burton, NY Times
Reader Wendy points us to a report from Bicycle Retailer: "Rent for the 244/242 Lafayette Street store, which encompassed two storefronts and about 2,300 square feet of space, was $21,000 a month. And [owner Charlie] McCorkell said his rent was going to increase by nearly 3 1/2 times to $72,000 per month, which wasn't sustainable with the revenue from bicycle sales."
The shop and its owner have long advocated for a bike-friendly New York. It is also a favorite of celebrities. Wrote the Times in 2012, "On any given day, you might see Jake Gyllenhaal. Or Matthew Broderick or David Byrne. David Beckham has been said to swing by, just for some much-needed air."
But in today's New York, doing good business and making money won't keep you afloat. Not when landlords can hike the rent to enormous heights--and favor national chain stores.
"I am concerned about the future of SoHo," Charlie McCorkell told Bicycle Retailer, "as more and more of the stores, galleries and artists who transformed the area are being replaced by eateries and high-end chain stores. Will SoHo become another high-end suburban-like mall, lacking local flavor?"
Bicycle Habitat's last day will be September 30. The store will merge into its other location three doors down.
If you want to the city to put a stop to these insane rent increases, join #SaveNYC and support the Small Business Jobs Survival Act.
Isn't bicycling among the trendy things most "hipster" types enjoy?
ReplyDeleteConsidering most of this gentrification taking place of late is, for the most part, the results of the excessive influx of these demographic types, one would figure the last business those types would ever want to see "go under" would be any involved with the current-day "bicycling" craze.
I'm not a hipster, jagoff. I bike because I can't afford a car. I am a born and bred NYC guy, and biking has ALWAYS been a part of the city. Where are YOU from?
DeleteWell, as mentioned in this piece, Bicycle Habitat isn't going out of business, they're merely consolidating two stores that are 3 doors apart on the same street.
ReplyDeleteWill Soho become another soulless, suburban shopping mall?
ReplyDeleteUm...has this guy had his eyes open the past 10 years?