The retail spaces for rent in the Untitled building on Avenue A

For-lease signs went up last week in four of the five vacant retail spaces at 58-72 Avenue A, the block-long building that sold in the fall of 2022 between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

The newish owners named the building Untitled.

The listings are on LoopNet for the spaces that range from 368 square feet to 1,105. 

Three storefronts were operated by Angel Ramirez — Angels on A, Angels Boutique and Café Social 68/Viva! Café. He cited rising rents and real estate taxes as the primary reasons for the closures.

Another space was the longtime home of Ink, which 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. 

We're curious about what might be joining the other tenants — Mast Books, March Gallery and the liquor store.

The second photo by Stacie Joy

This storefront remains vacant 15 months after Ink on A closed

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).

Untitled building now with more Untitled

A surprising number of readers pointed out the new Untitled signage on the three residential entrances of the recently branded building at 58-72 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

The block letters arrived Friday on the newish awnings on the A, Fourth and Fifth Street sides...

The two-floor high "Untitled" sign arrived on the SE corner of Avenue A and Fifth Street back in the fall, setting off some speculation over the name. (Some people thought it had something to do with the bookstore Mast, the tenant in the corner space. It did not.)

Derby Copeland Capital bought the 6-story building for $64 million in the fall of 2022. The building is entering its second year of gut renovations, which has seen the conversion from prewar 1- and 2-bedroom units to 3-4-bedroom apartments with asking rents as high as $10,000 per month. 

The building's previous market-rate tenants were not offered lease renewals (with a 90-day notice), and now only a handful of rent-controlled and stabilized tenants are still in residence. (Read more about the situation via this Hellgate piece.) 

This East Village building is now Untitled

Reporting by Stacie Joy 

Late this past Thursday afternoon, this two-floor high "Untitled" sign arrived on the SE corner of Avenue A and Fifth Street...

We fielded several reader queries about the sign. Given its placement (and despite its permanence), a few readers thought this might be related to an event at Mast, the bookstore-gallery in the corner retail space. 

Well, it has nothing to do with Mast. An employee there was just as confused and surprised as others, and they questioned the placement above the business. (And Untitled isn't out of the realm of possibilities for the name of a bookstore.)

Sources tell us this is now the name of the 6-story building here at 58-72 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, which an LLC purchased for $64 million last fall. 

Meanwhile, readers also noted another new detail in the building: A copy of David Hockney's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" recently arrived in the refurbished Avenue A lobby... (the painting sold in 2018 for more than the building cost... and to be clear, this is not the original)...

As previously reported, Ink on A was a casualty in the block-long building's storefronts ... and as previous commenters noted, the landlords are not offering lease renewals to market-rate residential tenants.

Several renovated apartments, now configured with up to four bedrooms (previously one and two) plus in-unit washer-dryer combos and split-unit AC, are currently on the rental market.