Local pols blast 7-Eleven for blocking order to remove noisy refrigeration unit at 170 Avenue A

[File photo via the No 7-Eleven Blog]

From the EVG inbox yesterday afternoon…

Today, a group of elected officials and community groups blasted 7-Eleven for being a bad neighbor and demanded they drop the October 7, 2014 appeal of a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) order to cease using a noisy ground-level refrigeration unit in the East Village. The refrigeration unit at 7-Eleven’s 170 Avenue A store has been tormenting neighbors for over a year and violates the City’s noise code.

Since the refrigeration unit was installed in September 2013, residents of adjoining 502 East 11th Street have been driven from their bedrooms by the unit’s constant grinding, clicking and vibrating. Residents have secured multiple DEP noise violations against 7-Eleven, which culminated in the agency issuing a cease and desist order for the unit last month. 7-Eleven has chosen to fight the order at the City’s Environmental Control Board rather than fixing or disabling the offending unit.

Senator Hoylman (D, WFP – Manhattan) said: “This is an outrage. It’s like living in a wind tunnel. Neighbors can’t get a good night’s sleep thanks to 7-Eleven and its noisy refrigeration unit at 170 Avenue A. I demand 7-Eleven to fix or disable the refrigeration unit and drop their appeal immediately.”

Hoylman continued: “This case is a perfect example of how the incursion of franchises like 7-Eleven have hurt the quality of life in the East Village. It’s sad they can’t be trusted to be good neighbors.”

Council Member Rosie Mendez said: "Since NYC is a city that never sleeps, 7-Eleven believes that translates into the fact that it can disrupt its neighbors quality of life of 24/7. If 7-Eleven wants to operate a 24 hour business in NYC and in our community, then act like good neighbors by dropping the appeal and fixing the HVAC unit that is located only 2-3 feet from the rear windows."

Maria Rosenblum, a resident of 502 East 11th Street, said: “Having this refrigeration unit next to my apartment windows has been a living a nightmare. The constant noise and vibrations prevents our daughter from doing her homework and prevents me from doing my own work; I'm a freelance film editor and I work from home. At night we all have trouble sleeping and have had to all camp out on the floor of our living room, my husband, daughter and I. We have all been uprooted and our bedrooms are useless. 7-Eleven is destroying my home, my neighbors’ homes and our neighborhood.”

Gigi Li, Chair of Community Board 3, said: “Community Board 3 thanks Senator Hoylman for working with residents and the Community Board for almost a year to try to remedy this illegal installation that has been a nightmare for the neighbors. 7-Eleven has shown blatant disregard for their negative impact on neighbors by appealing the cease and desist order. They have moved into our community without concern of being a good neighbor and contributing to our community.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order

A WHOOSHING AC unit update: 'We are roundly being ignored by 7-Eleven and Westminster NYC'

Report: 7-Eleven's AC units have forced residents from their bedrooms on Avenue A & East 11th St.

This is one reason why I hate 7-Eleven opening on St. Mark's Place

The proximity to Gem Spa.

EV Grieve reader x said this Wednesday: "Woe to the Gem Spa! Will Slurpees and Big Gulps ever replace the egg cream?!?"

Something to think about as the city continues to change, and not always for the better... Earlier this year, we saw the hysteria that accompanied the false report that the Gem Spa had closed.

How much (or little) do you think 7-Eleven might hurt Gem Spa's business? I imagine 7-Eleven will pick off some tourists who want water or sodas... and see the familiar sign. And from people who might have grown up with a 7-Eleven and find the food comforting or kitschy ...

The Daily News checks in today with a piece on the 7-Eleven opening here. Per the article:

"This is not part of what our local community storefronts are," said Gary Steinkohl, who has lived on E. Ninth St. for 25 years and was adamant the chain store would "absolutely not" fit in.

St. Marks has gone from "some alternative lifestyle, anything goes, place to a more mainstream, citified street that's almost like any other," he added.

A 7-Eleven spokesperson told the paper that: "We would not open a store we didn't think would be of convenience to the neighborhood. We typically franchise a store to someone who lives close by, and we want franchisees to become a contributing part of their store’s community."

Meanwhile, I was reading an article in The Oregonian from last Thursday about 7-Eleven's march through the Portland metro area — 15 new locations are in the works. (The article points out that 7-Elevens are opening up practically on top of each other there.)

And how are the locals taking it?

"Since December, Portland residents with concerns about increased alcohol sales and corporations draining profits from mom-and-pop stores have been demonstrating and hand wringing about 7-Eleven."

And elsewhere. In Los Angeles, 7-Eleven plans to open 600 new stores across the region.

Knowing next to nothing about 7-Eleven's history... I checked out the chain's history page on the 7-Eleven website ... the store's beginnings are traced to 1927 in Texas... and, in 1946, they adopted the 7-Eleven name.

Per the website: "As convenience stores grew in the 1950s, the retail outlets then served as the 'mom-and-pop' neighborhood grocery store, the 'ice-house,' the dairy store, the supermarket and the delicatessen all in one location."

And there you have it...

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven continues to feast on the East Village; next up, St. Mark's Place

A quick East Village 7-Eleven inventory

P.S.

And have you seen the hand-painted signs that V.H. McKenzie created for Tompkins Square Bagels...? They've been up in the shop now the past six or so weeks... Read more about them here.

There's a 'No 7-Eleven' planning meeting tonight

[Bobby Williams]

From the EV Grieve inbox...

NO 7-Eleven, a grassroots movement resisting the spread of chains and franchises, is holding a neighborhood-wide meeting tonight. Their goal is to require that all corporate clone stores, including banks, be required to obtain approval before opening a new location so the community can have a say in the number and location of corporate chains and franchises. Details below. Please spread the word.

Limit corporate clone stores before they limit our food, our commerce, our labor, our streets and our New York City character

7-Eleven is opening a new location on the corner of 11th Street and Ave. A in June.

7-Eleven already opened 32 locations in Manhattan and has an additional 100 stores on the way!

Their plan is to over saturate the neighborhood with locations and remove any and all competition.

If you are as concerned about protecting the East Village and future of the city, please attend:

Next 'No 7-Eleven' Meeting
6:30-8:00pm
93 St. Marks Place
Between First Avenue and Avenue A

More details:

The No 7-Eleven blog ... Facebook ... Twitter...

Other news items from the No 7-Eleven group include:
1. 'NO 7-Eleven' just won a grant from Citizens Committee. "One important concern for them is the low quality of food offered to low-income neighborhoods. We share that concern and hope we can make a difference with our effort to have all corporate 'formula' stores (including banks, btw) throughout our fair city go to the local community board for approval before opening."

2. 7-Eleven Corp. has delayed its opening on 11th Street and Avenue A by a month, from May 13 to June 13. And it still has no franchisee.

3. NO 7-Eleven will be featured at the New Museum's Ideas City Festival, May 4 on the Bowery. "We'll have our Community Wheel of Fortune and our NO 7-Eleven Players there to perform."

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

'No 7-Eleven' movement goes global with BBC report

1 year later, 7-Eleven asks for more time to move noisy refrigeration units from residential windows

[File photo via the No 7-Eleven Blog]

7-Eleven representatives appeared yesterday before the Environmental Control Board to discuss the ongoing issues with the store's Avenue A refrigeration unit that has caused sleepless nights for nearby neighbors these past 12-plus months.

And the result of this? According to DNAinfo:

At the hearing, a judge granted a two-week adjournment after a 7-Eleven representative said the franchise was entering into a contract to have the equipment moved. The judge gave 7-Eleven two weeks to submit a signed contract to show that the units would be placed elsewhere, he said.

Meanwhile, the building's landlord at Avenue A and East 11th Street, the Jared Kushner-owned Westminster City Living, put the blame directly on 7-Eleven. A Westminster spokesperson told DNA in a statement that they have been trying to meet with 7-Eleven for eight months.

“We completely agree with local residents. The units installed and owned by 7-Eleven need to be moved, and we’re working to make sure it happens,” the spokesman said in a statement.

There wasn't any comment from 7-Eleven reps.

You can read more about this at WABC and WCBS.

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order

A WHOOSHING AC unit update: 'We are roundly being ignored by 7-Eleven and Westminster NYC'

Report: 7-Eleven's AC units have forced residents from their bedrooms on Avenue A & East 11th St.

Local pols blast 7-Eleven for blocking order to remove noisy refrigeration unit at 170 Avenue A

There is a Boycott 7-Eleven rally tomorrow

[Photo from the No 7-Eleven blog]

Via the EVG inbox…

Please join us for our weekly ‘Boycott 7-Eleven’ rally tomorrow, February 2nd, from 1-2PM at the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street.

In other 7-Eleven related news, the No 7-Eleven Blog had an update this past week about the fines that 7-Eleven and Westminster Management have incurred at 500 E. 11th St. regarding the store's illegally placed AC and refrigeration units — more than $17,000 to date. Workers installed the units back in September.

Granted $17,000 isn't anything for Westminster Management, a division of Kushner Companies, or 7-Eleven. (That's dinner at Masa for the gang!) But not doing anything about the situation seems to be going against 7-Eleven's "aim to win over the tough crowd."

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order

A Stop Work order at Avenue A's incoming 7-Eleven

Report: Another Stop Work Order for incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

A WHOOSHING AC unit update: 'We are roundly being ignored by 7-Eleven and Westminster NYC'

Big gulping on St. Mark's Place

[7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place one recent day. The ambulance was only parked outside.]

New York magazine checks in with a feature on 7-Eleven(s), which features the scary headline: "The Big Gulp: How 7-Eleven plans to put the bodega out of business."

Gulp.

You know, 7-Eleven has this Business Conversion Program, "whose stated goal is to entice mom-and-pop shops into becoming 7-Elevens. Will bodegas be able to compete when they rarely even use scanners to keep track of inventory? When they hire extra labor just to sell sandwiches for a pittance? When they stock outdated and unpopular items like canned clam sauce and mackerels?"

And, later.

Given this Business Conversion Program, "7-Eleven could plausibly claim to simply be giving moms and pops the means to take their entrepreneurialism to new heights: The 7-Eleven takeover may merely involve the same people we already buy Doritos from selling us bags of Doritos from a different supply chain. In that case, all that will really be lost are some cats and the possibility of occasionally persuading a clerk to sell a single cigarette rather than a whole pack — that, and another set of idiosyncratic storefronts, to be replaced, à la banks and pharmacies, by the nationally uniform palettes of corporate chains."

There's a lot more to read in Willy Staley's article here.

Meanwhile, we've been keeping tabs on the 7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place and the nearby Gem Spa. We worry that Gem Spa's business will be hurt by the recent arrival of the franchise across the way.

[EVG file photo]

One morning, we watched a touristy couple in their 50s walk east along St. Mark's Place. They get to the side of Gem Spa and size up the various hats, sunglasses and what not that are for sale in the kiosks outside the store. They seem confused. As if they're looking for something that they can't find. The woman looks around and spots the 7-Eleven. They walk across the street and enter the 7-Eleven.

Another time. Two young men. 19? 20? 21? Figured one of the guys lived here; the other one was visiting. They stopped in front of the 7-Eleven. The visitor starts to move toward the door. His friend tugs at the other's sleeve and says — we swear! — you can never go in there. They continue walking and eventually head into Gem Spa.

What does this mean? Absolutely nothing at the moment. But we enjoyed the stakeout.

Previously on EV Grieve:
This is one reason why I hate 7-Eleven opening on St. Mark's Place

Report: Opening date for Avenue A 7-Eleven pushed back to November

[7-Eleven plywood pic by Michael Sean Edwards]

The incoming 7-Eleven on the corner of Avenue A and East 11th Street looks like it will be, uh, incoming for an additional six months. The No 7-Eleven blog pointed out that the opening date has been pushed back from June to November, according to the company's franchise website.



Per the No 7-Eleven blog:

Ben Shaoul recently sold the building to Jared Kushner which may have something to do with the delay ... In the past few weeks workers have removed the flimsy plywood roof and replaced the dangerous wooden gangplank that surrounds the catastrophe corner.

If the November deadline holds, then construction will have gone on (and off) for 14 months. Wonder what the franchise record is ...


[A recent look behind the plywood by EVG reader OlympiasEpiriot]

Meanwhile, there is a also a new "No 7-Eleven" Petition. Find that here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

'No 7-Eleven' movement goes global with BBC report

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Noise nightmare for neighbors comes to an end as 7-11 moves AC units to the roof on Avenue A

More than 15 months after 7-Eleven installed three noisy refrigeration units in an alleyway between 500 and 502 E. 11th St., workers arrived this morning to move them to the building's rooftop where they hopefully won't keep neighbors up all night.

Back in October, the Department of Environmental Protection ordered the Avenue A 7-Eleven to stop using the units, saying they violated the city's noise code. At the time, 7-Eleven reps said that they needed more time to sign a contract with a company to move the equipment. Landlord Westminster City Living claimed that 7-Eleven had refused to meet with them to discuss the ongoing issue.

As previously noted, the constant grinding, clicking noise caused several tenants in 502 East 11th St. to abandon their bedrooms.


[Photo via the No 7-Eleven Blog]

The crane was originally scheduled to arrive last Thursday, but the company had to amend their plans the day before the lift.

Upon hearing that news last week, one resident wrote, "We are at our emotional ends — exhausted beyond belief. We were fantasizing about the use of our living room for a Christmas tree (instead of a cluttered bedroom), and now we will have to wait… until when?"

The wait appears to be over… as these photos by Brian Katz, one of the residents who has endured the noise, show…





Previously on EV Grieve:
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order

A WHOOSHING AC unit update: 'We are roundly being ignored by 7-Eleven and Westminster NYC'

Report: 7-Eleven's AC units have forced residents from their bedrooms on Avenue A & East 11th St.

Local pols blast 7-Eleven for blocking order to remove noisy refrigeration unit at 170 Avenue A

1 year later, 7-Eleven asks for more time to move noisy refrigeration units from residential windows

Reviving those 7-Eleven + another chain rumors for Avenue A

[Photo last week via Shawn Chittle]

That pesky rumor has returned... the one about the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street being more than just a 7-Eleven. Back in September, we heard the space of the former Bar on A and Angels & Kings would be chopped into two chains, a 7-Eleven and either a Starbucks or Subway. Just rumors mind you.

So far, there's nothing on the DOB permits pointing specifically to anything other than a 7-Eleven here. But! The applicant of record for both 500 E. 11th St. and 170 Avenue A is Bentonville, Ark.-based Harrison French & Associates, an architecture and engineering firm whose clients include 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Subway.

Plus, as several people have noted, this is a really big space for just a 7-Eleven. Anyway, yesterday, a reader passed along word of a rumor that the space will be both a 7-Eleven and a Starbucks.

Perhaps. Anyway, at this point, nothing would likely surprise us here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

[From August]

In recent years, when a business closes around here, it's inevitable that the Starbucks-7-Eleven-Subway rumor makes the rounds as a replacement.

We heard this after Graceland closed ... when 34 Avenue A was looking for a new tenant ... when Kate's Joint closed on Avenue B ... when 219 First Avenue had retail space available; ditto for the Copper Building retail ground floor — and so on. Sometimes it turns out to be true, and other times, it's just a rumor. Or something people use merely as a threat.

So we heard the Starbucks-7-Eleven-Subway whispers about the recently shuttered Bar on A at East 11th Street. In part, these rumors surfaced because Ben Shaoul of Magnum Real Estate owns the building ... and two of his East Village properties are now home to a Starbucks (First Avenue at East Third Street) and a 7-Eleven (Broadway and East 12th Street). On Monday, one of the construction workers gutting 170 Avenue A told told a reporter from The Local that a 7-Eleven was taking over the former Bar on A space.

[Photos by Shawn Chittle]

However, in addition, workers have cleared out Angels & Kings, Pete Wentz's onetime emo hangout behind Bar on A at 500 E. 11th St. (aka 170 Avenue A). According to the work permits for No. 500: "REMODEL EXISTING STAIR CONNECTING CELLAR AND FIRST FLOOR. REMOVE INTERIOR NON-LOAD BEARING PARTITIONS AT FIRST FLOOR."

[Last evening via EVG reader Cheryl Pyle on Facebook]

An EVG regular who has been watching all this unfold thinks that the two spaces together are too big for just a 7-Eleven, and believes that the two spaces would yield both a 7-Eleven and a Subway. Or a Starbucks. This is only a theory. But plausible.

In January, the CB3/SLA gave the OK for the people behind Keybar on East 13th Street to take over the Angels & Kings space and open a bar-restaurant serving Hungarian food. No word on whatever happened to those plans.

However, there's nothing just yet on the DOB permits pointing specifically yet to a 7-Eleven, Starbucks or Subway. One connection: The applicant of record for both 500 E. 11th St. and 170 Avenue A is Bentonville, Ark.-based Harrison French & Associates, an architecture and engineering firm whose clients include 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Subway. (Harris French did the 7-Eleven on Broadway at East 12th Street and East 14th Street.)

In any event, nothing official has been released about the corner's future. But given NYC's current retail environment, you may want to get ready for the first national, non-bank chain/franchise on Avenue A. And probably not the last.

11th Street A-B-C Block Association opposing incoming 7-Eleven; eyeing future developments

[From August]

The following is a synopsis of last night's 11th Street A-B-C Block Association meeting...

By Matt Amoroso

At Father’s Heart Ministries church last night, approximately 50 attendees comprised largely of 11th Street residents discussed strategies and action items regarding the incoming 7-Eleven on the corner of Ave. A and 11th St., the pending luxury development in the Mary Help of Christians lot as well as the proposed construction of a social services building at 535 E. 11th St.

While the discussion centered on East 11th Street and parts of Avenue A, the fact was not lost on the room that these development concerns are symptomatic not only of the greater East Village neighborhood but also the rest of Manhattan.

Despite the presence of several issues on the docket, the incoming 7-Eleven stood out as the hot-button topic of the evening. The consensus in the room largely acknowledged: the 11th St. Block Association opposes the 7-Eleven, and there is not much the members of the 11th St. Block Association can do to stop this particular location from opening.

In a majority decision, the Block Association voted to oppose outright the opening of this 7-Eleven, and in the failure of that attempt, to push for a list of agreed upon concessions from the local 7-Eleven owner or the landlord. Those concessions included:

• Reduced evening/late night hours
• Reduction in lights and signature signage
• Noise control
• Entrance on Ave. A only
• Enforcement of loitering laws
• Possible security guard
• Limits to the sale of alcohol
• Keeping the door closed at all times

In addition to “Is this really happening?”, the pressing question for most attendees was “What can we do about it?” Aside from a general boycott, the attendees suggested numerous courses of action to accomplish the above goals. The most feasible and effective suggestions centered upon utilizing legislative channels through elected or soon-to-be-elected officials to gain notoriety for the grievances of the block and East Village overall.

Other ideas included: social media engagement and petitioning, flyering, picketing, NY media engagement, and research into the existence of any public funding going into construction.

Despite the clear opposition to the incoming 7-Eleven, several residents noted that this franchise would solve the often-voiced problems associated with the (now-closed) bars on the street, including Bar on A and Angels and Kings. In addition, if this 7-Eleven were not to open, then another bar would surely fill the void (if not out of spite from the landlord).

No love was lost in the room for the much-maligned real-estate developer Ben Shaoul, who owns the building housing the future 7-Eleven as well as the Mary Help of Christians lot.

It remained reluctantly clear to the attendees that there is not much that can legally stop a private owner from developing businesses or luxury condos on his property. One can only hope for community engagement, elected official support, and a little bit of luck to turn the tide in the East Village and Manhattan as a whole.

As community leader Rob Hollander reminded everyone: “The law couldn’t stop Robert Moses, but Jane Jacobs did.”

Author’s note: There were many great ideas and viewpoints expressed during the meeting that couldn’t make it into the above story due to time and space. I encourage people to add anything that was left out in the comments section!

Matt Amoroso is the Co-Editor of The Stark Online.

[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

So far, we've seen signs of opposition against the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street. First, someone carved "Fuck 7-11" into the sidewalk (twice) ... then we saw the anti-7-Eleven stickers ... and now... sidewalk chalk ... several of these are around the plywood...

[Thanks to @JGerbz for the photo]

And last night, someone created giant "No 7-Eleven" signs in the middle of the intersection... via an EVG reader...

Can't wait to see what's next in the anti-7-Eleven arsenal...

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Reviving those 7-Eleven + another chain rumors for Avenue A

[Updated] Reminders: Bodega Walk today

As we mentioned on Monday, the 'No 7-Eleven' Committee is holding a Bodega Walk today... here's more information via the inbox...

As part of our resistance against the incursion of 7-Elevens into the East Village we are inviting you to come with us on the first walking tour of our neighborhood bodegas. We love these corner stores and need them to stay open and intact.

When a 7-Eleven opens the bodegas nearby always take a hit, often a lethal one. During Sandy bodegas remained open and gave their perishable food away. Whole Foods didn’t. Will 7-Eleven? The existence of each of these unique bodegas supports the reality that our neighborhood is a social place and the city is our home. We will chant, read poems, share info about each store and buy stuff before we move on to the next. The walk will take about an hour ending at Tompkins Square Bagels.

Bodega Walk
Saturday February 2nd @ Noon
11th Street and Avenue A

Shawn Chittle created a Google map with the delis surrounding the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street. You can access that map here.

And at DNAinfo, Serena Solomon wrote an article on the walk. You can read that here.

UPDATED 11:05

Per the No 7-Eleven folks:

We'll be walking to 4 bodegas before winding up at Tompkins Square Bagels for a bite to eat. Here are the addresses:

Meeting at 11th and Avenue A @ Noon

1. 528 East 11th Deli & Grocery

2. Sheen Brothers
346 East 10th Street (Corner B)

3. Tompkins Finest Deli
153 Avenue A (10 St)

4. Poppy's Deli
191 Avenue A (12 St)

5. Tompkins Square Bagels
165 Avenue A (11 St)

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

'No 7-Eleven' movement goes global with BBC report

Report: New York City is '7-Eleven's No. 1 priority'

[On Broadway near East 12th Street, via CP]

In case you missed it... there was a Marketplace Morning Report on Friday about 7-Eleven's plans to destroy humanity expand in Manhattan...

A few highlights from the report:

Lots of places sold those commodities and 7-Eleven couldn’t compete. The company closed its few Manhattan stores in the early 80s. But now, it wants to grow, and fast, and New York is 7-Eleven's number one priority.

“Where are we not where we could be the fastest and have the most number of stores?” Barnes says.

Within five years, 7-Eleven could be nearly as ubiquitous in Manhattan as Starbucks. The company plans to open at least 30 new stores a year.

And!

That’s bad news for shop owners like Kyung Chan Yu.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why they do that to me?” he says as he stands in the corner deli in Chelsea he’s owned for years.

After 7-Eleven opened next door recently, his sales are down 25 percent.

Here's the full report:



Thanks to EVG regular Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C for the link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven continues to feast on the East Village; next up, St. Mark's Place

[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

Update on the 'No 7-Eleven' campaign, now with a Twitter account

You've read about the growing unrest regarding the 7-Eleven slated for the corner of Avenue A and East 11th Street... EVG reader Liberation, who is helping to organize residents, provided an update:

Our website team met this past weekend at the East Village Community Coalition offices to begin work on our forthcoming site, due to launch in the next few weeks.

The site will include profiles on local bodegas and how chain stores like 7-11 negatively impact their businesses and families, studies on how chain stores negatively affect local economies and cases where other communities have successfully fought back against chain stores and franchises, to name a few things.

While we prepare for our website launch people can connect with us now on Twitter at @No7ElevenNYC. In the next day or so we'll also be rolling out a new Facebook page. (Some people prefer one over the other so we want to provide options.)

We've set up various teams to support the project such as a research team, a street team and an education team. If people would like to get involved in one of these teams please email us here (no711nyc@gmail.com)

Meanwhile, the Observer and Crain's are the latest media outlets to report on this story.

And in case you missed this post from Saturday, the 7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place is now delivering.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

This is your chance to be the 7-Eleven's landlord on the Bowery!

Here's an investment opportunity for you involving the retail condo at 351 and 353 Bowery between Third Street and Fourth Street... home of a 7-Eleven for maybe the next 15 years.

Details via the listing!

The Boulder Group is pleased to exclusively market for sale a single-tenant 7-Eleven retail condominium located in Manhattan within the Bowery neighborhood. 7-Eleven is committed to this location as evidenced by their recent lease extension which now expires in December 2034.

The lease features 10-percent rental escalations every five years in the primary term and a 15-percent rental escalation in the renewal option. 7-Eleven is an investment grade tenant with a Standard & Poor’s rating of AA-. This location is open 24 hours and a top performing location for 7-Eleven.

And the price for this 2,162 square feet of retail (to the exact dollar): $6,915,032.

This 7-Eleven opened in December 2011.

Chalking up more 'No 7-Eleven' sentiment on Avenue A

A handful of hearty residents took to the frozen streets last night to create some more "No 7-Eleven" messages on Avenue A and East 11th Street ... site of one of the all-too-familiar franchise shops that will soon open in NYC ... A BBC crew was on-hand as well, documenting all this for an upcoming news segment...

...and from above...

Meanwhile, Khalif from East Village Deli at 217 Avenue A shows off his "No 7-Eleven" pride...

[Photo by Crazy Eddie]

The movement is growing...

Top photos by Shawn Chittle

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

7-Eleven set to feast on the corpse of Manhattan

In the above photo, 7-Eleven is in place on Third Avenue near 20th Street... directly next to a mom-and-pop market... Meanwhile, here are some excerpts from Adrianne Pasquarelli's piece in Crain's ... in which the Slurpee Slingers are planning to, basically, take over Manhattan...

7-Eleven is taking Manhattan by storm. The Dallas-based convenience store operator recently opened two outposts in Murray Hill and has signed leases for another two locations elsewhere in the borough.

“We are actively looking,” said Margaret Chabris, public relations director for 83-year-old 7-Eleven Inc., noting that New York is a key growth market. The company, which has several additional leases out for negotiation in Manhattan, is also moving onto college campuses and airports.

By the end of 2012, 7-Eleven plans to have between 15 and 20 Manhattan locations, according to real estate sources. In the next five years, the company aims to operate 100 outposts here.

“There are more attractive locations available now than there were in the past, and this is due to the recession," Ms. Chabris said. "A lot of small businesses are having a tough time growing, or some of them aren't able to renew leases."

Part of the company's new strategy involves a small-business conversion program where existing mom-and-pop stores, convenience shops or bodegas transition their businesses into 7-Eleven franchise locations. Each outpost costs approximately $250,000 to remodel.

So far, the company has replaced old delis and DVD stores, and even a former Starbucks on Third Avenue.

Any bets on a 7-Eleven in the East Village ... as rumored last year...?

'No 7-Eleven' street theater meeting planned for Saturday afternoon

From the EV Grieve inbox...

NO 7-ELEVEN MEETING
Bringing together our next event: street theater in Tompkins Square Park. Meeting is this Saturday, March 30, 524 E 11th St., #1 @ 1pm to plan our weekly fun-in-the-park street theater — making masks, signs, props, rehearse our skits and create our COMMUNITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE

(A big neighborhood-wide meeting is planned for the end of April — watch for it!)

We are upping our fight against the 7-Eleven projected on 11th St & A and against all corporate giants (clone stores & banks) taking over our streets, jobs, commerce, community character and future. Here's who we are and what we're about

What we're about here.

Who we are here.

The weather is supposed to be nice Saturday, so if lots of folks come, we'll take it to the park and put it all together there!

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

'No 7-Eleven' movement goes global with BBC report

7-Eleven fallout: East Village groups propose resolution 'to restrict corporate formula stores'

Report: 7-Eleven's AC units have forced residents from their bedrooms on Avenue A & East 11th St.

[Photo via the No 7-Eleven Blog]

As previously reported, workers installed several AC and refrigeration units adjacent to the incoming 7-Eleven at 500 E. 11th St. last September ... placed inches away from the bedroom windows of tenants. The No 7-Eleven Blog noted last week that landlord Westminster Management has racked up $17,000-plus in fines for the illegally placed units at 500 E. 11th St.

While no one appears to be much in a hurry to do anything about these AC units… life continues to be miserable for some surrounding tenants. The No 7-Eleven Blog heard firsthand from tenants for a post yesterday:

The illegal refrigeration unit is placed on the one story roof between 500 and 502 East 11th St. immediately outside of the bedrooms of four separate, second floor apartments (two in each building). This unit significantly violates the noise pollution laws (twice cited by the DEP). The noise and vibrations that this unit emits have resulted in tenants in 502 East 11th St. to abandon their bedrooms and re-position their entire family in the living room. The noise is constantly grinding, clicking, and vibrating making it unbearable for ALL the tenants on all the floors between the two buildings — one of whom is a freelance film editor who is now unable to work at home.

According to the blog, the tenants will request another noise reading next month … with a court date possible in the future.

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order

A WHOOSHING AC unit update: 'We are roundly being ignored by 7-Eleven and Westminster NYC'