The Wall Street Journal today talks with some of the longtime employees and patrons and offers up some of Central Art's history.
Inside the drawers of the shop’s back office, assistant manager Christopher Colvin remembers finding pre-World War II architectural drawing tools and compasses, small artifacts of the store’s long history.
Among the many treasures he has found: a pencil set so old and delicate it has begun to disintegrate. It is a token that Mr. Colvin said he bought for himself and will cherish long after he says goodbye to the staff, the store and its loyal patrons for the last time.
On July 11, the Steinberg family, who has run the art supply store for three generations, announced that they would be closing up shop. They cited "poor business conditions" and the pending sale of the building between 10th Street and 11th Street as the primary reasons behind the closure.
Back to today's Journal:
[Family member Doug] Steinberg said the four-story building is in the process of being sold, and that neither the price nor the buyer’s intentions for the property had yet been disclosed.
Doug Steinberg told us last week he did not know why the buyer was, "But I am 99 percent sure it is NOT Lightstone. They actually looked at it and passed. Whoever is buying it is — as far as we know — unrelated to the hotel mania around the corner."
Steinberg also told us (and DNAinfo) that they are trying to find a new home for what's left of their inventory and paper collection.
20 comments:
The fact that NO ONE posted a comment to this store
closing shows me y'all don't give a rats as about the area changing , you just like to complain. i think this is sad as f*ck.
Boooo
I have no doubt that whoever bought that nice little building will promptly tear it down and grace us with yet another towering featureless shoebox that has all the appeal of the rack.
People posted comments regarding its closing in the initial EV post/s about it closing. There's also this thing called most people are still at work as it's 4:34pm at the time of my post.
It is sad as fuck but what can you do but boycott this neighborhood until everything cool about it is gone and the people who want it barren of any culture, creativity, or art can live in their culture, creativity, and art-less lives?
There's no point in lamenting the inevitable which is all that which made the EV unique and interesting will be eliminated one by one until there's nothing left.
This is sad. Very sad in fact. This was a hallmark of our neighborhood. They will be sorely missed :(
@2:15. Where have you been? The last 3 articles on this store closing had 15, 24 and 29 comments, so maybe people
are just commented out in this topic. Or maybe they are getting ready for the big weekend storm by stocking up on bread and water. Anyway nice try, now pass the baloney, I need to make a sandwich to get ready for the storm.
Anon 2:15
The closing of New York Central Art has been the subject of many comments by readers of EV Grieve. There have been testimonials from people who have been loyal customers, and there have been queries, never sufficiently answered, about the ownership of the building and the reasons for the sale. The ownership is clearly a complicated issue that no one in the family wanted to openly discuss. I suggest you check out the EVGrieve archive to see how much comment the closing of this cherished neighborhood store engendered.
Damn you person who got those flat file drawers.
I was at NY Central this afternoon (its final day) and employees said that NY Central's building AND the corner building (where Pourhouse is) will BOTH be leveled to be part of the incoming Marriott "Moxy" hotel. I was told that Pourhouse's "renovation" is not that at all, and that the tenants upstairs have been (or are being) relocated.
Now, I have no idea if this is true, but I have no reason to disbelieve it, esp. as the extended closure of Pourhouse's main entrance seems oddly timed.
Would welcome anyone who could confirm or deny what I was told about those 2 small buildings. If these rumors are true, then Marriott is screwing the neighborhood even worse than we initially thought.
...if that is true, then it has happened under stealth cover -- NOT a public hearing of any kind.
The hot rumor is that Lightstone is buying 62 and 64 Third Ave. ... and will KO those buildings along with 112-120 E. 11th St. for the 300-room Moxy hotel.
I'm not sure how you fit a 300-room hotel where 112-120 was. So it makes sense.
However, there is nothing in public records yet about sales of either building. (And nothing on file with the DOB.)
And I specifically asked Doug Steinberg if Lightstone bought the building. He said they looked at it early on...
"But I am 99 percent sure it is NOT Lightstone. They actually looked at it and passed. Whoever is buying it is — as far as we know — unrelated to the hotel mania around the corner."
i don't think there is any land use review or permission other than permits and plan approval for private buildings
unless there is an unsafe condition in the building's physical condition
@evgrieve 9:27am: I *know* what you reported Doug saying, but my post @10:36pm reflects what I was told by 2 different, long-term NY Central employees.
Doug said he was 99% sure - but this could be the other 1%. Or maybe the developer or Marriott is buying that building under a different LLC?
And don't you think it's odd that Pourhouse would close for "renovations" just BEFORE the start of the college semester??
I'm agreeing with you 10:36! There's no way that hotel fits where 112-120 E. 11th St. is. They need more space... I've heard this from other sources too...
9:27 am: strange or cagey comments by Doug S. He doesn't know who is buying his own building? I suppose their could be some corporate layering but not to know whether it is going to be part of a major hotel project? I don't think so.
Call me a conspiracy theorist but doesn't this Moxy Hotel seem like an attempt to shut down Webster Hall? That block is gonna be an even bigger shitshow with demolition and construction right across the street from WH.
@1:30am: Not sure if they can put Webster out of business: construction work is done during the day; Webster operates late into the night, so no conflict there.
Also, Webster Hall is landmarked, so the building itself will remain.
But as to this whole area being a shitshow - you are right. And the nabe definitely gets screwed over massively.
IMO, this area will ultimately be Times Square South, what with the Astor Place "plaza" and this hotel. Somebody very high up in local government seems to have decided that the East Village is not for long-term residents, is not allowed to be a stable neighborhood, but should instead be completely re-made as a playground for kidults passing through.
It seems that you have hit the nail on the head, 3:12.
1:30pm here good point 3:12pm but doesn't the construction all day, clubbing at night cycle hurt Webster Hall in that people may think "This damn construction, AND THIS DAMN CLUB when the construction." which would be unfair to Webster Hall since it was there first (yep, the building it's housed in isn't going anywhere, thankfully :) I could see certain people wanting it out of the picture with the reason that it's getting in the way of "quality of life" (the construction, the club blah blah blah.)
@8:51pm: Yes, but people "wanting" Webster Hall out of the picture has no effect on Webster Hall's continuing existence, and WH has already done (and continues to do) its bit to wreck "quality of life" around here.
BTW, Webster Hall is apparently one of the MOST successful live music venues in the city, and possibly the country (based on what I've read online), so I don't imagine they'd go under without a huge fight.
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