Photos by Stacie Joy
There has been some activity inside 66 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street ... as the space appears to be getting prepped for leasing action...
In the past year or so, the interior has been a staging area for the gut renovations of the block-long building (58-72 Avenue A), which now goes as Untitled (and is free of the previous market-rate tenants).
This storefront — along with the one previously the lottery shop next to the liquor store — is for lease.
Per the listing (PDF here): "Situated in a vibrant neighborhood, this location is located in line with other retail and surrounded by major retailers such as Starbucks, Blink Fitness, SoulCycle, and Crunch Fitness."
(Interesting businesses to namecheck. "Surrounded by"? Soul Cycle is on Fourth and Lafayette, one block west of the Crunch on the Bowery.)
Ink closed here in July 2023 after 30-plus years in business. Owner Ben "Benny" Dahud had been in a legal tussle (some of this was his own fault, he admitted) with the private equity firm that bought the building in the fall of 2022 for $64 million.
In the end, Benny decided to retire and close the newsstand. This post has more background about what transpired.
Anyway, we miss Ink and Benny. We hope he is enjoying his time away from behind the counter (seen below in June 2023).
Thanks Stacie - miss this place , Benny was a good dude
ReplyDeleteA real New York establishment in the best ways. For the publications, absolutely. And then often I saw Benny being courteous with some body who clearly just needed a person to chat to.
ReplyDeleteBenny was an amazing guy and they had the most amazing selection of the most obscure magazines in the world there. Whether you are in fashion architecture photography the amount of magazines alone with something you don't see anymore. I owned my business right around the corner from him and I used to go there quite a lot. All the uniqueness of New York is disappearing
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