The other day, an EVG regular was shopping at the Associated on East 14th Street in Stuy Town. Word there was that ownership was currently renegotiating a lease renewal ... but that management "didn't feel confident they will get a renewal they can afford."
Well, turns out that the Town & Village Blog has been on this story.
In post from Sept. 29, Sabina Mollot reported that while the end of the store's 15-year lease is still two years away, principal owner Joseph Falzon has been asking about a renewal because he wants to renovate the store.
As he told Town & Village, Falzon "wanted to make sure the store had a future before making the investment, which he feels is necessary given competition from places like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods in Union Square."
Apparently, though, Stuy Town landlord CWCapital Asset Management hasn't been interested in such conversations.
To Town & Village:
“I called up last June and said, ‘It’s time to talk about a lease. We’d like to revamp the store,’ and at that time they just ignored me,” said Falzon. He continued to call but was told to ask again closer to when the lease would be up. But Falzon didn’t want to wait, explaining, “The store needs a face lift right now.” In a recent conversation, when he asked, “’When the time comes for a lease renewal will you talk to us?”, the answer from a company rep was that he “wasn’t at liberty to say right now,” Falzon said. “Our feeling is that the landlord doesn’t want us to renew when it’s up. We’re good tenants. We pay our rent. I don’t know if it looks hopeful.”
Additionally, recently, a representative from a competing supermarket who Falzon declined to name, has also approached CWCapital about taking over Associated’s space.
“He offered double what we pay and they said no,” said Falzon. “I don’t know if they have plans for it. They’re not telling us, anyway.”
In April, the owners of this Associated closed Met supermarket on Third Avenue and East 17th Street after a rent increase. That space remains vacant.
Very interested to see what happens. not a ton of love for this associated on ev grieve but if you live in stuy town, it gets the job done for basics.
ReplyDeleteplace is HIDEOUSLY overpriced (right on the verge of price gouging)---only consolation are weekly specials---TJ's offers more consistent daily value :)
ReplyDeleteAnd basics is what most people on fixed incomes purchase...look around.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising. CW Capital and Andrew MacArthur ruined Stuy Town.
ReplyDeleteThis is a HORRIBLE store. More options have been coming in with much better prices and quality products, so I imagine they're hurting. Seems like the management already have a deal in place with another store, or maybe they're planning a rebuild?
ReplyDeleteNot a great store, but there is nothing else in the immediate vicinity. Any word on a grocery store going in at the development 14th and A?
ReplyDeleteMy guess they demolish and build a 60 story glass condo there.
ReplyDeleteFirst. I do a lot of cooking and I shop around. Associated is not horribly overpriced, it's prices are consistently better than Gristede's and Morton Williams other other big chains left in the neighborhood, but it's their sale items are what makes them sooo superior to anybody around: $1.99/lb for center cut pork chops, .99/lb for chicke, $2 to 2.50 for blocks of cheese, etc. And where else can you get ground pork, let alone at their reasonable prices (usually around $2.99/lb.
ReplyDeleteSecond. Associated is in Dan Garodnick's district and Dan is the only city councilman in Manhattan who is not supporting the Small Business Jobs Survival Act. This needs to change and hopefully it will change as the businesses along 14th Street and First Ave around Stuy Town start to find out about the SBJSA (they will soon find out about it, trust me). Ask any business in the neighborhood what it's like looking to renew a lease or find an affordable space. It's become impossible. Enough's enough. Dan and the City Council could change that if they were not so afraid of NYC's real estate industry.
Forget affordable prices for Manhattan, City Hall has taken the real estate campaign cash and turned their backs on all small businesses and the public is paying the price. As for Garodnick being the only Manhattan member not supporting giving small business owners rights to survive in businesses , log onto campaign finance board of NYC and see why he has turned his back on all businesses.
DeleteDog eat dog.
ReplyDeleteyou don't go to associated looking for whole foods or fancy items.
ReplyDeletethis is what supermarkets were historically. they have more shelf space than small delis and because they theoretically buy in bulk have cheaper prices.
i have found some wonderful sales there, and some over priced items. i doctor their prepared food when i purchase it. their managers are more friendly than the staff but that has improved over the years. the physical store leaves a lot to be desired. i don't shop for ambiance. and they delivery is free. of course you should tip adequately.
whole foods is expensive, over charges and mislabels. their salad bar/prepared food selections have diminished over the years. the staff can be surly. most of their stuff is their own brand and the prices are fairly high.
trader joes has great frozen produce and fresh items that have to be used very quickly. their prepared items are generally high in salt and low in quantity. most of their items are reasonably priced. they too do not carry much that is not their own brand. their staff is very friendly and accommodating.
key foods and trader joes are mot that convenient to people living east of second avenue. the former met on lower second avenue has changed since it has been saved, but they do have a wide selection and some decent sales.
associated is one of the last traditional supermarket serving the needs of most of the neighborhood's residents.
although i know how hard it is to get our elected representatives to actually help with real neighborhood issues, i would be happy to join with others to try and save this supermarket. this does not have to be turned into a political issue.
there is a tenants' association, local newspapers, and a community that needs services like associated.
anyone interested??
There's no way, given what's happening on 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue B, that a large, ugly, one-story building won't be ripped down in favor of something much much taller and even uglier.
ReplyDeleteNobody's building a multistory building there. A stuy town playground sits on top and is flanked by existing apartment buildings.
ReplyDeleteIf you think Whole Foods is expensive either you don't actually go in there, or you're not doing it right. Bloomberg did a study last year comparing the major grocer chains in the city. WF was second-cheapest behind Fairway.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-09-03/whole-foods-plays-bargain-grocer-in-manhattan
Not trying to stick up for WF, just trying to cut out some of the noise and help my fellow man find better groceries. They have a bulk dry goods section; they make an actual effort to source produce and meats locally. In other words they are not pure evil incarnate and they actually do some things better than the competition.
"A stuy town playground sits on top and is flanked by existing apartment buildings" - so a playground is untouchable in a city that routinely rips down historic buildings and churches if there's profit to be made? Especially since a lot of the families who once used that playground no longer live in the complex? And "existing apartment buildings" somehow means none others can be built? You and I don't seem to live in the same New York, Anon. 11:38, but I guess that after enough time passes we'll see which one of us is wrong.
ReplyDeletePlaygrounds are active locations. The people who once used it are gone and have been replaced by new people who use it. Churches and "historic" buildings should not be saved purely because they're churches and "historic". Many of them are falling down of their own accord.
ReplyDeleteSo this same group owns the Associated on 8th and C... why is this one (my local location) so much worse? It's one of the worst Manhattan supermarkets I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteGojira,
ReplyDeletePC/ST have resisted building up ANY of their other retail spaces, I would be absolutely stunned if they suddenly decided to build a significantly higher building in this space. More likely they will look for a bank willing to pay a much higher rent in the same exact space.
There was a rumor a few months back that Fairway may be interested in the area, either in the new buildings on 14th between A&B or maybe they were the competitor looking at the existing Associated spot. If they turned down Fairway at twice the price I don't see what could afford to go into that space
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you're buying at Whole Foods, but the produce at Whole Foods is cheaper than it is at Associated... Not to mention WAY better quality wise.
ReplyDeleteAssociated is not horribly overpriced. It is one of the few affordable supermarkets in the area along with Key Food where people like me who can't afford Whole Foods and Commodities can shop. It would be terrible if this place closed. So many people in the neighborhood depend on this store.
ReplyDeleteI've been here for decades. Associated is a CLEAN store with FAIR prices and excellent hot food that is AFFORDABLE. And they are the only supermarket around (as far as I can tell) that offers that prepared food to people at 50 percent off at the end of the night. The employees are FRIENDLY and HELPFUL (unlike every other store) and the managers know their customers; hell, they even order stuff special for people — I've seen it in action: Old women who want the mighty size soap for a good price. Okay, Associated's produce is so-so and has been like that forever, so i buy my produce at the greenmarket where it's fresher anyway. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's can be great for specific items (comparing dollar for dollar) but ASSOCIATED IS THE ONLY STORE THAT RANKS HIGH ON EVERYTHING: good selection, low prices, good traditional weekly sales, friendly and helpful sales staff, good management, late hours, a real working deli counter, prepared cold and hot food, and fast cashiers who know their jobs and know their customers. THEY CARE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY. NO OTHER LOCAL SUPERMARKET GIVES A CRAP ABOUT COMMUNITY.
ReplyDeleteNot a word about C-Town on Avenue C? Most affordable of them all. Produce and meat. Meh. But fair pricing. Not so much yuppie crap either.
ReplyDeleteI always avoided the back wall where all the meats are, it smells like a slaughter house mixed with Lysol.
ReplyDeleteAt 7:04 PM, Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI always avoided the back wall where all the meats are, it smells like a slaughter house mixed with Lysol.
Yeah, that's the NYC bodega smell we know and love.
I like Associated and they are not overpriced. If you want fancy overpriced markets, you can go to many other places like: Gracefully, Whole Foods (Paycheck). Trader Joes is OK if you feel like waiting in line and fighting crazy people and NYU students. This Associated supermarket is very convenient to StuyTown residents. Especially the elderly residents. In addition, I don't like carrying groceries farther than I need to and I certainly am not going to order my groceries online. That's for lazy brainless millennials who don't know how to shop in a real live supermarket. WE NEED ASSOCIATED SUPERMARKET TO STAY IN THE CURRENT SPACE!!!
ReplyDeleteI would like to add that it is beyond obvious the current owners of PCVST have no clue. They have no idea what NYC is about and how to live here. Exhibit A - the new studios they just built with the ridiculous rail wide windows. This is not suburbia or some city in the midwest or west coast. Exhibit B - those stupid windblowers and "landscaping" that dies within 4 months. Seriously? I just can't anymore. So ignorant.
ReplyDeleteSince CW Crapital are special servicers, not owners, that are nearing the end of their term, I'm guessing that they won't grant any long term leases to any of the commercial tenants.
ReplyDeleteBy law, they must sell the property soon, and I'd guess that not having long term leases would make it more valuable. Typical for them, screw the residents, QOL be damned, their sole mission is to rake in as much cash as possible.
I AGREE 100%!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've been here for decades. Associated is a CLEAN store with FAIR prices and excellent hot food that is AFFORDABLE. And they are the only supermarket around (as far as I can tell) that offers that prepared food to people at 50 percent off at the end of the night. The employees are FRIENDLY and HELPFUL (unlike every other store) and the managers know their customers; hell, they even order stuff special for people — I've seen it in action: Old women who want the mighty size soap for a good price. Okay, Associated's produce is so-so and has been like that forever, so i buy my produce at the greenmarket where it's fresher anyway. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's can be great for specific items (comparing dollar for dollar) but ASSOCIATED IS THE ONLY STORE THAT RANKS HIGH ON EVERYTHING: good selection, low prices, good traditional weekly sales, friendly and helpful sales staff, good management, late hours, a real working deli counter, prepared cold and hot food, and fast cashiers who know their jobs and know their customers. THEY CARE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY. NO OTHER LOCAL SUPERMARKET GIVES A CRAP ABOUT COMMUNITY.
Do they sell random CAPS at Associated too?
ReplyDeleteAssociated is my current supermarket of choice. Since we lost the A&P and Gristede's on 1st Avenue just about 14th Street, long, long ago... The remodeled Key at 4th and A is really nice, and the former Met Foods on 2nd and 6th less so but still good. But I would never buy fresh meat in a supermarket anyway; that's what East Village Meat Market is for, and Chinatown for produce and fresh fish.
ReplyDeleteStill, we can't afford to lose Associated. We have little enough choice as it is.
Whole Foods is very competitive on price these days. This evening I bought some trail mix that is priced lower than at Trader Joe.
ReplyDeletewhole foods used to have a wonderful prepared food salad bar, they have consistently raised the price and reduced the choices.
ReplyDeletethey are making up for over charging on their pre-packaged foods.
several of their brand items have been recalled.
and while their produce is pretty good and their meat mostly decent (all their fish has been, or is, frozen) their prices are high.
their lines are ridiculous.
their staff is a mixed bag of helpful or rude.
Standing in those long checkout lines at Whole Foods is more like going through Customs at Heathrow, an endless snaking line of humanity where time stands still, and everyone puts their heads down, just hoping to one day make it to the other side.
ReplyDeleteAssociated has decent food and good prices , although I prefer the one one Ave C as it's a quick in and out. Whole Foods and Fairway are way more expensive.
ReplyDelete