[Image via Icon Realty]
Last Wednesday, Stage Restaurant owner Roman Diakun announced that he was permanently closing his 35-year-old diner at 128 Second Ave. between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. (You may read more about it here. As we understand it, he had four years left on his lease.)
Now landlord Icon Realty, who had been trying to oust the Stage in court, has listed the 600-square-foot space (with another 600 feet in the basement).
[Click to go big]
The listing notes that the space is "perfect for a restaurant, cafe, or all general retail uses." The asking rent is $15,000 a month.
The Stage gate has been up since Feb. 29. Despite being closed for nearly a year (March 30), it looks ready for business...
[EVG photo from Sunday]
Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation: Breakfast at Stage
Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage
The possibility that the Stage won't reopen on 2nd Avenue
[Updated] Report: Icon Realty serves the Stage an eviction notice
Stage owner Roman Diakun responds to allegations of illegally siphoning gas
Petition to help reopen the Stage
[Updated] The Stage is giving away its bulk food and supplies to charity
Report: The Stage is suing landlord Icon Realty to halt eviction process
The Stage is now crowdfunding to help in its legal fight with Icon Realty
The Stage Restaurant will not be reopening
'Gentrification in Progress' tape arrives at former Trash & Vaudeville and Stage Restaurant spaces
What business can survive in this sliver of a space for 15k?
ReplyDeleteOh, so this is why Icon wanted the Stage gone -- about $10k more a month in rent.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is where is my winning lotto ticket. Where is my trust fund. Where is my hit novel. Etc. Perhaps someone who has one or more of those things could help the Stage to stay in business. Or buy the building, even better. Oh well. Back to the coffee pot and the drawing board!
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for the SBO, but I intentionally avoid businesses in spaces run by landlords like this. I'm sure I'm not the only one, so keep that in mind, anyone looking at this space.
ReplyDeleteThere is probably alot of celebrating going on in the ICON SCUMBAG office. Congratulations pigs! I think it's time for their hack Chris Coffey to step in and explain their plan and talk about how Icon is "working with" the community and small businesses. FIGHT THE TRUE TERRORISTS that are destroying our city. Boycott any business in a ICON owned building!
ReplyDeleteWait, and 600 sq ft of basement space? Let me get my checkbook.
ReplyDeleteA restaurant rent shouldn't be more than 15 % of its revenues, meaning this tiny place w/out a liquor licence will have to make $100k a month for this rent to make sense.
ReplyDeleteSilence from the local elected officials. Shameful.
ReplyDeleteSo, who is going to be the sucker that bites on this one?
ReplyDeleteI suspect the Stage negotiated a significant settlement. I don't think there's anything wrong with leaving with some money after 35 years and all the hassle, but it's not the same as being evicted.
ReplyDelete$15,000 fucking grand for that space is criminal. Stage was a landmark. And now it is gone due to the hands of greed. Bastards.
ReplyDeleteAND MIRACULASTLY THE GAS LINES WILL BE REACTIVATED UPON THE SIGNATURE OF A MORE LUCRATIVE LEASE MIRICLES DOOOOO HAPPEN !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder whom ICON Realty has in their pocket in New York City Government in order to get away with what they are doing to people? That would be interesting to know!!!
ReplyDeleteicon can't actually rent the space until the stage is evicted by a court - or the stage agrees to end his lease or there are other defaults - if he has 4 years left on his lease.
ReplyDeleteComing Soon: Yummy! Yummy! Birchbox! Bing! Shaved Ice! Kitchen!
ReplyDeleteInsanity.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with Anon 9:22:
ReplyDeleteAn appropriate response to what ICON has done to the Stage Restaurant and countless other businesses and residences in our community is an organized BOYCOTT of commercial spaces being offered by ICON and letting potential renters KNOW it.
Use your imagination....
It is less likely that a business will rent a space in a hostile environment and/or a space that has been acquired by the landlord by less than honorable means that is going to get NO business.
USE YOUR IMAGINATION....
I am disgusted beyond words.
ReplyDeleteOh my GOD, $15,000?! ARE THEY HIGH?!?!
ReplyDeleteWhat business can survive in this sliver of a space for 15k?
ReplyDeleteBeer store!
Enough of the suggestions about what we should all do, as far as I can see there are a ton of suggestions, but haven't heard where I should meet up with people who want to organize a boycott of Icon? Why leave it at Icon, what about the rest of the bastard landlords in this community? Tell me where to meet and I am happy to be there.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteA restaurant rent shouldn't be more than 15 % of its revenues, meaning this tiny place w/out a liquor licence will have to make $100k a month for this rent to make sense.
March 9, 2016 at 10:23 AM"
100% correct, and thank you for pointing out the ridiculousness of the ecomonic aspect of this from the perspective of a potential food service tenant. Given the size of the space, it is not possible to have enough seating to generate the revenue required to pay the rent unless there was a seriously busy "to go" aspect of the restaurant. Even a "VAPE/SMOKE/INSERT FAD" shop would have trouble in this space for 15k a month.
With all due respect why show Icon's ad for the space thus give them free advertising? Your blog is fairly big and it's not unreasonable to think someone could run across it in a search for "East Village" real estate or use it to get "inside information" on what's available real estate-wise. Granted they'll see the anti-Icon sentiment Icon deserves and it might deter them from renting this space (or any other space) from Icon, but maybe not.
ReplyDeleteIcon can suck it. These people are a MAIN REASON the East Village is not what it used to be... and by 'used to be' I mean affordable and cool.
ReplyDeleteExcuse my language, but ICON are FUCKERS.
ReplyDelete#SaveNYC! #TakeBackNYC!! Get the SBJSA passed!!!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.change.org/p/support-the-small-business-jobs-survival-act-sbjsa
ICON REALTY SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED TOP TO BOTTOM AND INSIDE OUT ! THIS IS A SHAME WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. WE HAVE TO STAND UP AND DO TO THEM WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US ! STAGE WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE AREA AND IS SORELY MISSED. IM SURE ICON HAS SOME SKELETONS THAT CAN BE BROUGHT TO LIFE TO TONE DOWN THEIR DISGUSTING ACTIONS !
ReplyDeleteBad Karma Real Estate.
ReplyDeleteWhere some of us see creativity, beauty and soul others see $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
ReplyDeleteWTF? 15 grand for that space? Are the owners high? The Stage was legendary. And the landlord shitted all over it. Money can be helpful and make one's life easier in many aspects. The thing about money though is you can't take it with you when you die.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't getting 15000. No way. The ask on the old Spice was 28,000. They got 20,000. Ask on old laundry place was 22,000 . They got 19000. Still pretty high but they won't get 15,000.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:52: Group meetings toward an organized BOYCOTT campaign is a great start. Not just vs ICON, but also the other real estate maggots, including Croman, Kushner and Shaol and their various corporate cloaks.
ReplyDeleteAnyone interested in getting something started??
Dear Icon, just an FYI, the more you grab desperately at money over people the more your soul drains out of you. May you become increasingly impotent with every new property you acquire and may your dollars bring you no happiness in the end.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad but true. Icon doesn't care about anything but $. They bought my building and it has been like dealing with a bunch of greedy pigs since day one. Awful people who are without souls.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be surprise if Pomme Frites tries to get back to Second Avenue here; their old place place was a gold mine for drunk frathoes and sororstitute millenials
ReplyDeleteHi I'm definitely down to join anyone working to destroy Icon's efforts to rent the Stage, Pick Me Up and other locations from which iconic (pun intended!) East Village have been driven. We need to make sure prospective renters learn that an organized community boycott will be directed at driving them out of business. We need to make these locations unrentable.
ReplyDelete