A for rent sign hangs in the window of the yellow storefront with the handpainted signage, and the space was emptied out over the weekend. On Saturday evening, workers inside the storefront told an EVG reader that they were closed for good.
Several years after debuting, there were some claims that the shop pedaled hot property. And in early 2010, as The New York Times reported, Busy Bee was busted for buying stolen bikes at the time... reopening "after a $4,000 fine and under court-ordered stipulations that include random inspections and severe restrictions on purchasing used bikes."
An owner, the Times reported, was Joseph Malewich, a former NYPD detective. He opened the shop in 2004 with local bike legend Emey Hoffman, who died in 2009.
Busy Bee joins some other bike shops to close in the neighborhood in recent years... including Bikes, By George! ... Landmark Bicycles ... and Danny's Cycles.
As for other shops in business:
• Bfold Folding Bicycles, 224 E. 13th St.
• BikeFixNYC, 334 E. Sixth St.
• CC Cyclery & Co., 530 E. 13th St.
• NYC Velo, 66 Second Ave.
• Trek Bicycle Bowery, 303 Bowery
• Wing Bikes, 345 E. 12th St. (high-end ebikes)
