Earlier this summer, we reported that the retail spaces housing both the Chase branch on Avenue A at East Second Street and the location on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place were for rent.
Now, in letters that Chase customers received yesterday, bank officials announced that both branches will close after the business day on Nov. 12...
According to the letters, the branch at 130 Second Ave. will consolidate with the location two blocks to the north at No. 156 while the Avenue A outlet will merge with the branch at 106 Delancey.
The asking rent on the Second Avenue Chase space is $72,000 a month, per the listing. The rent is available upon request for the Avenue A storefront.
Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos of the letters!
Previously on EV Grieve:
Chase space on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place is for rent
The retail space at 20 Avenue A is on the market
As far as I'm concerned, Chase can close the other two locations. I have had accounts at Chase for 30 years but after this last screwup Im closing them all. They supposedly had mailed out 2 new debit cards with the new security chip in them, but neither were received, then the followup letters they are supposed to send also never came. Supposedly all 4 pieces of mail wee just "lost." I only figured this out when I went to the ATM one night and neither of the old cards worked since both were deactivated. Plus all the recurring transactions for online payments were cancelled and bounced since the card numbers changed. Then Chase wants $32 per overdraft, $12 per month if you have a low balance, outrageous fees for wire transfers, and all this in exchange for lousiy custom service.
ReplyDeleteI went back to the bank the next day to fix the problem, and even though was the only customer there they still made me wait in the big empty bank while all the employees stood around doing nothing. Then they treated me like I had done something wrong and that this kind of thing had never happened before, and claimed it was a the Post Office's fault. Too big to fail? Chase has become to big to care. Now I have opened accounts at Amalgamated Bank, a nice union bank that actually acts like they care about customers because they do,
I don't use the one on St. Mark's Place, but I use the one on Avenue A all the time. This is too bad, but not just for me. If banks are closing, it means they aren't lending, and if they're not lending, it portends a bad time ahead. This is an early sign of red-lining.
ReplyDeleteIt was insane that they had two branches that close together. Bring back the 2nd Ave. Deli....
ReplyDeleteThe new Chase cards with the chip are the WORST. They add about 20-30 seconds to my ATM transactions due to the fact the machine takes its sweet time recognizing the new chip, then asks you to put the card back in and leave it - you can't simple put it in and leave it, you must wait for the ATM to scold you - then clamps down on the card locking it in. Get ready for more beeping, reading instruction on the screen, and delays until you've taken your money. The idea is to speed things up not slow them down.
ReplyDelete$72,000
ReplyDeleteSeventy Two Thousand??
Seventy Two Fricking Thousand???
What the hell.
You'd have to make $2500 profit a day just to stay alive. Not gross: profit!
Why isn't de Blasio doing something to save our banks!?
ReplyDeleteThe poster above who praised Amalgamated will find out that they have shit customer service, long lines,and also charge outrageous fees---I left them years ago. They had a security issue when I banked with them and they had to issue me a new ATM card ---totally their fault and I had to take time from work to get to one of their branches (they don't have many in Manhattan) to fill out paperwork, etc. My inconvenience, no apology from them. Suddenly I got all these crazy phone calls about loans, etc.---coincidence?
ReplyDeleteSo I bank with Chase now but so far, no probs--a large branch near my work place midtown is actually pretty good, fast and vey courteous service. But that may be a fluke! On topic, the poster who said the EV branches were too close is right--it was ridiculous. I will miss the convenience though ---and god knows what business will take over those spaces....more bars?
What's funny is that landlords think someone else will be able to afford 72,000 a month. If Chase bank can't handle that rent, no one else will either. More high rent blight.
ReplyDelete@NOTORIOUS I have the new card too and you are right, the machines clamp down on the new card and wont let you take it back until ithe whole transaction is done. These are just like the old ATMs, and sometimes the card would get stuck in thhe machine and then not return it to you.
ReplyDeleteWhy would Chase go back to a system that was slower and that caused so many problems with cards that always got stuck in machines? I bet a lot of people will forget their cards are still in the slot and walk away. That will be a good thing for the theives watching you at the ATM, they can just grab it and go on an instant shopping spree.
I have had accounts at Amalgamated for years with no problems. My friends and family members with accounts at Chase and other big banks always complain about how they contantly harassed with policy changes, new fees, and frozen accounts for no reason. Plus I have alos heard those new cards with the chips are a big hassle. But if people would rather leave all their money with a giant bank that takes tax holder money and billion dollar bailouts instead of using a socailly responsible local bank then that's their decision.
ReplyDeleteThe chips are for security, not speed.
ReplyDelete@ 10:18 -- These cards are actually more secure than the mag strip ones. Even if someone gets your card, they'd have to have both the card and your PIN for the transaction, and not only at ATMs.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've been wanting a chip card for a long while. If you travel outside the US lately (meaning the last few years), you are seriously hampered without it. My worst problem was at an unstaffed fuel station in a rural area of Quebec. No way to add cash, mag strip didn't work, fortunately I still had enough fuel in the tank (barely) to get to a bigger town where I could go in and pay with cash and then go back out to pump. Whenever I had looked into getting a credit card with a chip, I was finding myself on the 'luxury' card pages at Visa, being told I'd need to pay a minimum $35 annual fee. Noooooo thanks -- none of my travels are luxury (many are for work and my work doesn't take me to urban centers), but, I do need to have a credit card. I was seriously looking forward to the day when our banks were going to have to catch up with the rest of the world.
Honestly, as frustrating as it seems at the moment, I think people will, by and large, get used to them, just like we did with swiping our cards ourselves instead of handing them over, and the delays will go away. This also makes it impossible to clone the strip ("steal" your card without you losing possession of it). Otoh, I will be keeping mine in a faraday pouch. Cause I'm accused of being paranoid. ;-)
I'm a Chase customer who was grandfathered in after they ate WAMU. I keep hearing people complain about fees, but I never pay any for transfers, low balance, or anything else unless I use a non-Chase ATM. Never heard of these new cards, either. Wondering if old WAMU customers are treated differently.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:55: "If banks are closing, it means they aren't lending, and if they're not lending, it portends a bad time ahead."
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking the closures are due to Chase's desire to not pay massive increasing rents, and not due to red-lining...
It always appears to me that banks in the neighborhood have too much space. There's usually 4 tellers and 4 desks, when 2 of each would probably suffice. 90% of the clientele has to be coming in for an ATM anyway, so why so many people working there? I get that banks are renting pre-existing space that are large - I'm just surprised that those spaces haven't been split up.
ReplyDeleteThe new card is more secure? Wrong! The new cards from Chase have BOTH the magnetic strip and the chip. That means any waiter or fake ATM card reader can still swipe you card info and clone it. They had to leave the magnetic strip on the cards since so many US retailers still do not have a chip reader and probably won't have them for years. Once they remove the strip it willl be more secure, but right now it is not any more secure than the old cards. This change had NOTHING to do with seccurity---Chase is just running 2 systems now since people who travel to more developed countries are getting stuck with cards that don't work there uness thy ave the hip.
ReplyDeleteNot going to make friends with this comment but here goes:
ReplyDeleteIf you bank with Chase and are E.V. Grieve / East Village supporters you should have your head examined.
Chase is a criminal organization. The US Government has prosecuted and won cases against them countless times. They exist only through the notion that they have lobbyists in Washington that protect them. These are undisputed facts. They invented the term "Too big to fail."
Who do you think funds these mega skyscrapers and glass condos we all hate? Chase. With your money, honey.
Don't close your account; leave $100 in there and move the rest to the Lower East Side People's Credit Union.
They are not without their flaws, but they are local, friendly, have great loan and interest rates, very beautiful credit and debit cards, and they don't fund projects that you will visit E. V. Grieve to bitch about.
Stop in on the weekend or a weeknight and make the move. Do it!
Thanks neighbors and friends!
Banks and cash machines did a lot of good in the days when we were all getting mugged for our cash. With cash machines on every other block, you didn't need to carry more than a few $20s, so muggings became less profitable.
ReplyDeleteThen, more and more stores started taking debt card transactions, and now everyone does, so the need for cash, and banks everywhere, has declined.
Now, we bank more online, so we're getting our corner lots back, but other than bars, who wants them? Maybe banks moving away from physical cash machine service will drive down rents a little, but maybe that's just me wishing.
@ 11:41 ... Yeah, the magnetic strip should be gone if they have the chip and they should provide their retailers/banks with the correct readers.
ReplyDeleteOn November 12 we should gather at those bank branches and raise up a big cheer and sing "na na na na, hey hey hey..." Sure that would be a real dick move, but why not hit them where it really hurts for a change--their feelings. Nobody ever hurts the feelings of a bank. But maybe we should start.
ReplyDelete11:41 AM
ReplyDeleteIf you use the chip reader to perform a transaction, that transaction is more secure. Hence, the card with a chip is a more secure card than one without.
If you give a waiter (or anybody) your cc number, exp date, and ccv number, then security for that transaction is 0, and has nothing to do with a strip, a chip, or a plastic card, at all.
As to the OP's main point about the Chase ATMs, fraudulent strip readers installed on ATMs and other unmonitored terminals is becoming almost common these days.
Thankyew Shaun!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd coat-tailing on your wisdom:
I have, for anything other than internet purchases, stopped using my credit card.
1. I am sick of having my every move tracked by who knows who.
2. I run a small business (4 employees - I'm still in debt). Our usual yearly profit? About 10% after expenses? Credit card fees? SIX percent overall after all their "back page billing" (really - we just did an audit of the last two years). So all cash customers would mean 16% profit.
3. This one's for Shaun:
People - when you use credit cards I promise you that 6% is going to the LAST damn people on earth that you'd give it to if you knew where it was going.
'Nuff said.
I go to Sweden a couple of time per year and when you eat at a restaurant the waiter/waitress brings a portable terminal to your table and completes the transaction facing you. I thought this was strange at first but I realize this is superior to losing sight of your card even for a minute.
ReplyDeleteHave banked at Amalgamated for decades - back then they were (if I remember correctly) the only bank offering TRULY FREE checking accounts (which their checking accounts still are!). I still maintain an account there, though I am dismayed that they seem to have defaulted to a policy of 1-working-teller-per-branch.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I also opened an account with TD, simply b/c they are geographically closer to where I am & I can get $$ from their ATM without paying a fee.
For a long time, Amalgamated had a deal with CHASE whereby Amalgamated's customers could use the Chase ATM's which were in Duane Reade stores without paying a fee. Chase cut that connection a few years back, so Amalgamated now has far fewer places where their customers can use a fee-free ATM.
As for the idea of banks not lending, my question would be: to whom are banks lending these days anyway? If you look at all the new "luxury" condos all over the place - with blithe signage saying "starting at $2.5 million" - I don't think the people buying those are taking out mortgages at local banks. I think they're paying cash from their work bonuses or maybe from their trust funds.
If you have enough money to afford the LESPFCU, fine. For people with less money to spend, bigger banks like Chase are a better deal. They have more ATMs and lower fees with a minimum balance, which isn't that high. Small is not beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou know who else banks at Chase? Taylor Swift and Ben Shaoul. Nuff said.
ReplyDelete1) Yay they are leaving! Yes, we want the 2nd avenue deli back!
ReplyDelete2) The US banks didn't make the move to the chips in the cards because it was too expensive FOR THEM... and they just ate the cost of fraud. They didn't care if your card was stolen and it screwed YOU over and was a hassle for you. That is UNTIL the Target store credit card heist. Then the number of cards stolen was so vast that they said, "Oh, now it makes economic sense to go to the chips"
I wonder if this will be the next TD Bank branch.
ReplyDeletehttp://evgrieve.com/2014/05/the-fucking-td-bank-branch-is-now-open.html