Showing posts with label East Village businesses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Village businesses. Show all posts

Friday, March 31, 2023

Green days: About the GetLocalEV small business sustainability campaign this April

Via the EVG inbox... 
Want to shop sustainably but don't know where to look? Check out the East Village Small Business Sustainability campaign starting April 1! The campaign will feature content on small businesses that are creating positive environmental impacts in our local community. 

Follow the @getlocalev Instagram account to stay up-to-date on information about green markets, upcycled fashion stores, zero waste shops, and more! 
You can check out the Get Local website here... Get Local East Village is an initiative of the East Village Community Coalition.

Monday, February 20, 2023

Renovation activity at the previous home of the Essex Card Shop on Avenue A

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Updated 2/22: Thanks to the reader comments, we now know who the new tenant is — East Village Buyers, relocating here from Third Street. Find the story here.

-------

Renovations are underway inside the vacant storefront at 39 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street...
Unfortunately, workers at the space said they didn't know who the new tenant would be...
Until 2020, the space was home to Essex Card Shop... which moved one block to the north.
Last summer, the Cooper Square Committee, Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition released a report titled "Crisis and Adaptation: Storefront Trends in the East Village, 2019 – 2021," ...  which named these retail spaces in the NYCHA-owned First Houses on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street as "vacancy hotspots." 

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

An idea for this 'vacancy hotspot' on Avenue A

Per our lead post from Monday, there's a new report titled "Crisis and Adaptation: Storefront Trends in the East Village, 2019 – 2021." 

As noted, there are many takeaways from the 20-page report, including a section titled "vacancy hotspots."

Among those: The retail spaces in the NYCHA-owned First Houses on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. Three of the seven Avenue A-facing storefronts remain vacant and have been for years.

The report offers this recommendation:
Urge the NYCHA to make their vacant spaces on Avenue A available for vendor markets, micro-entrepreneurs living in NYCHA developments, and local businesses more generally.

We don't know why the city/NYCHA hasn't made more of an effort to lease these high-profile spaces.

The other two vacancy hotspots are the retail spaces at Steiner East Village on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street (for lease signs have been posted for the past four years) and the renovated storefronts at 250 E. Houston St. 

The report, released by the Cooper Square Committee, Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition, provides a deep dive into the neighborhood's commercial landscape that builds off of the 2019 "East Village Commercial District Needs Assessment" to give a 2021 snapshot of the EV commercial district.   

Monday, August 1, 2022

Report explores East Village storefront trends from 2019-2021; vacancies on the rise

It's not your imagination: There are a lot of empty storefronts in the East Village. 

From 2019 to 2021, there was a 35% increase in storefront vacancies in the neighborhood. 

That's just one finding in a new report titled "Crisis and Adaptation: Storefront Trends in the East Village, 2019 – 2021." 

The report, released by the Cooper Square Committee, Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition, provides a deep dive into the neighborhood's commercial landscape that builds off of the 2019 "East Village Commercial District Needs Assessment" to give a 2021 snapshot of the EV commercial district. 

The report identifies changes in the commercial district since 2019 and current challenges facing the small businesses in the neighborhood, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report's authors say it depicts a picture of survival amidst ongoing challenges that have led to the closure of numerous local businesses.

The findings are based on an on-the-ground survey conducted in the fall of 2021 that recorded business information or vacancy status for all first and second-floor storefronts in the East Village. In addition, the report draws on merchant experiences shared through a recent survey and interviews with small business owners. 

Among the findings:
  • Of the vacant storefronts observed in 2021, 171 are new vacancies and 149 were also vacant in 2019.
  • Medium and large landlords (6-60 buildings) own buildings with a majority of storefront spaces overall and own properties with disproportionately high rates of new vacancies, business closures since 2019, and persistent vacancies.
  • From 2019-2021, 336 businesses in the East Village closed while 261 new ones opened their doors.
  • Accommodation and Food Services businesses declined over twice as much as Retail Trade and all Other Categories, which remained relatively stable. Accommodation and Food Service establishments declined by 6%; Retail Trade businesses by 2%.
  • 13 businesses expanded in the neighborhood, and 17 relocated to new locations within the neighborhood boundaries.
The report concludes, in part:
Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the years from 2019 to 2021 saw a variety of changes to the East Village commercial district. The number of vacant storefronts in the neighborhood grew as many merchants struggled to keep their businesses afloat and some were forced to shutter their doors. 

While some business categories grew, others faced decline or remained stable. Growing businesses and 
These changes within the commercial district reflect the many challenges that merchants face during ordinary times as well as new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Respondents to the Merchant Survey reported that the top three challenges they face relate to their commercial rent/lease, finding skilled workers, and marketing/advertising costs. Other notable challenges that merchants face are gaining access to loans/credit/ financing and labor costs.

To overcome these challenges, it is essential that merchants in the East Village continue to receive small-business support and resources in order to ensure their businesses can prosper and grow.
There's a lot to unpack in the 20-page report, which you can read here. We plan to look at some other findings in the days ahead.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Shopping the PP strip on 2nd Avenue

EVG reader CH shared these photos and text...
This past Friday, my friend and I were looking for a quick bite between two screenings at Anthology when we discovered that the ground floor of 50 Second Ave. is entirely occupied by establishments whose names consist of two words starting with the letter P: Pak Punjab, Proto’s Pizza and Puff & Pass. 

It happened to be the grand opening of Puff & Pass, who informed us that they had chosen their name based on those of their two neighbors. We proceeded to have four slices of pizza from Proto’s; after the second screening, we also purchased a box of Pocky sticks from Puff & Pass, as well as “Peanut Pista” biscuits and “Pass Pass Pulse” candies (this review is very accurate) from Pak Punjab. 

We’re not thrilled about whatever’s happening next door… praying that the Poetry Project or some other PP takes over.