BeetleBug, a flower shop, recently opened at 441 E. Ninth St. at Avenue A (their placeholder website is here).
They are the first retail tenant in the recently renovated spaces along here... which have been vacant for nearly a year...
According to one previous tenant here, landlord Icon Realty either wasn't renewing leases or offering new terms with unmanageable rent increases. The last tenant to leave was the Upper Rust, who found a new space in Chelsea for their antiques.
The former tenant at No. 441, the vintage boutique Dusty Buttons, moved one block to the west on Ninth Street in 2015. Unfortunately, owner Amanda Loureiro recently announced that Dusty Buttons was closing at the end of this month at 324 E. Ninth St.
Back on Ninth and A, four other retail spaces remain for rent... and the corner spot, home for 20 years to Café Pick Me Up until May 2015, still sits empty.
Updated: DNAInfo followed up with a post on BeetleBug here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
On East 9th Street Dusty Buttons is closing after 125% rent hike: 'Saying goodbye will hurt like hell'
How is a flower shop going to be able to pay the ridiculous ICON rents? I can't imagine it will last very long.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: should we boycott stores that open in icon buildings and let them know why? Otherwise it seems to reward icon (and others) for destroying our neighborhood. Curious what long term residents think.
ReplyDeleteI have lived down the street from this building for over 20 years and YES BOYCOTT these businesses. De-value Icon's properties in the way that they de-valued the lives of tenents they threw out on the street. The few tenants who stuck it out have been harassed for years now.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that is certain is that the flower shop will get screwed by Icon some way, somehow; that is a given! So maybe the boycott isn't even necessary but it might be a consideration when people are choosing a landlord.
Why rent from these people? Icon has no soul or morals so they don't care how many lives they destroy unless they feel it in the wallet.
I'm not only for a boycott of Icon but the entire East Village.
ReplyDeleteIf no one replaced those who move out, rents would plummet and landlords would be forced to improve what is occupied for fear of people moving.
Why not? What does the EV have to offer anymore really? Name me ten things the EV has now that it had in 1992 (25 years ago) not counting restaurants and bars without live music i.e. places to eat and drink - go ahead, and please tell everyone what you list was so people are educated about what used to exist in the EV so they can look for things like it elsewhere.
If we are going to boycott this business we should boycott every business that signed a lease with Icon, Crowman, Shaoul, Jonas, etc. Some of you would be very surprised to find out who these businesses are. Most people wouldn't do it even if the list existed because they want, what they want, when they want and how they want and only care about that. I'm ready to commit to this type of boycott because I basically already do it, but is anyone else out there. Not a business that existed before these clowns go their hands on things, one that signed a lease with these folks despite the bad press etc.
ReplyDeleteUgh it looks so...Upper East Side
ReplyDeleteI understand the frustration, but it kind of sucks to send a message to Icon by punishing local businesses. A better move would be to post signs on Icon storefronts to let prospective commercial tenants know that they risk confronting a boycott by leasing the space. Better to at least give warning, and keep the storefront from generating revenue for Icon in the first place, than to punish unassuming entrepreneurs.
ReplyDeleteLocal businesses who support Icon's driving out local businesses, 1:59pm.
ReplyDeleteWhen you move into an Icon property you forfeit the right to call yourself a "local business" esp. when your "local business" caters only to the rich and/or people outside the neighborhood mostly e.g. the bro bars and you knew damn well who was in there last and that they were driven out. Whoever moved into the Stage Deli can eat shit.
Warnings of boycotts? Why? They know exactly what they're doing and don't care so they should suffer without warning. Boycott them after they move in and when enough businesses get the hint, those spaces won't be so attractive anymore. But talking about a boycott is pointless because the EV is so far gone it doesn't have enough people to mount a boycott serious enough to hurt a business. Most people just don't give a shit. It's over.