Thursday, February 3, 2022

As the bank branches turn on 2nd Avenue

Meanwhile, in bank branch news... as you likely know, HSBC agreed last spring to sell 80 of its 148 U.S. branches to Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Bank. 

The HSBC on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Second Avenue made the cut and will transition to a Citizens Bank on Feb. 17. 

Ahead of that, workers yesterday installed the deep-green Citizens signage (with the daisy wheel logo ) ... EVG contributor Steven was there to mark the occasion...
... and at the end of the day, a temp HSBC was back on the marquee...
HSBC arrived here in the spring of 2010 ... before it was a bank branch, the Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man haunted this space. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

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15 comments:

  1. hywel ddaFebruary 3, 2022 at 9:35 AM

    And way way back when (80's) it was a "5 and Dime" run by two great guys. It was a true EVERYTHING store from t-shirts to canning lids. They were always eager to help with a smile and a greeting. One was felled by illness & the other retired. Since then it has been a series of unremarkable shops that came & went & offered little to the neighborhood. Now a bank becomes a bank. With Chase across the street and Apple down the block and TD around the corner are we supposed to be grateful to have another bank? Maybe we'll get REALLY lucky and the former Capitol Bank one block north will become a Santander! Whoopee!

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2022 at 11:04 AM

      There was a Starbucks there @1998 sometime before it moved across the street to the northwest corner of 9th and 2nd. I was new to the area and used to have the whole place to myself in the mornings. That's when they had a maple nut scone. Delicious.

      Delete
    2. Wink2xFebruary 4, 2022 at 1:27 PM

      We used to call it the “Green and Yellow Store” because that’s what its exterior was painted. It was a great place filled with random stuff.
      To Anon@11:04-I second you on the maple nut scone. It was yummy.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2022 at 10:22 AM

    can’t remember the last time I actually walked into a bank

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2022 at 10:33 AM

    @9:35AM: Try to keep up: TD on 3rd and 10th will be gone by September.

    And I wouldn't bank at Chase (or Citi) even if they paid me.

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  4. hywel ddaFebruary 3, 2022 at 11:04 AM

    @ 9:35 a.m. I agree completely with both your statements.

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  5. KatherineFebruary 3, 2022 at 11:05 AM

    Where was the restaurant Rectangle? Maybe nextdoor?

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2022 at 6:47 PM

      Rectangles, an Israeli restaurant with a Yemeni-jews cuisine, was on southwest corner of 2nd and 10th, just across from 2nd Ave Deli.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2022 at 5:33 PM

      Ahh. Yeah. What a reminder. They were the only place to get jachnun on Saturdays. Thanks.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2022 at 12:02 PM

    @hywel dda - I remember that store, it was called Arka and the brothers were Polish, I believe. A guy that used to live in my building bought nice dress shoes there, and I got white paint to re-do my kitchen. It really was a great "everything" stop-and-shop...

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  7. JAMESFebruary 3, 2022 at 12:52 PM

    Here's an interesting read on this strip from NY Times 1983.

    https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/19/nyregion/new-prosperity-brings-discord-to-the-east-village.html

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  8. Jerry KFebruary 3, 2022 at 5:24 PM

    We called the variety store “Monkey Business “ for some reason. It was also an RKO Video about 30 years ago

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  9. Jerry KFebruary 3, 2022 at 5:26 PM

    The shoe store was between 9th and 10th street and named “Karpaty”. The owners were Ukrainian.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2022 at 6:50 PM

      That's the name of a mountainous region, currently in Ukraine, but wasn't always.

      Delete
  10. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2022 at 9:30 AM

    @Jerry K - Not sure if you're referring to my post about dress shoes, but the store I am talking about was NOT a shoe store, it was the "let's go in there and see what they're selling today" place @hywel dda first referred to, where you never knew from day to day what would be on offer. I remember Karpaty, different storefront. Arka was right on the SW corner of 10th and 2nd.

    ReplyDelete

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