Last day for IQ Decor on 14th Street

The discount store, which sells everything from toys to NYC souvenirs to mops to luggage, closes it doors after the business day today here on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

IQ Decor management has been telling customers that the landlord doubled the current rent.

Thanks to KT for the photo!

Previously on EV Grieve:
I.Q. Decor closing on 14th Street

The 14th Street Shoe Repair Shop has closed

The 14th Street Shoe Repair Shop, 428 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, has closed.

An EVG reader said that Saturday was the last day for business. We were told that the cobbler could not remain open following a rent increase.

A vendor named Ba had also been selling items such as socks, gloves and phone chargers in front the past three years. (He was at the East Side 99¢ space before this.) EVG reader Michael Paul believes that Ba may move to another storefront on the block.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The shoe repair post that you've been waiting for

Facing a $168k rent increase, the Associated Supermarket on West 14th Street closes

[Photo by Bayou]

The Associated Supermarket at 255 W. 14th St. between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue closed after business on Sunday, per the notice on the door.

Landlord Pan Am Equities reportedly served the 27-year-old store with an exorbitant rent increase. (According to Gothamist, the rent is going from $32,000/month to $200,000/month.)

In March, "an impressively large crowd and a full slate of politicians rallied outside the Associated" to try to save the market. (There was another protest outside Pan Am's offices.) The lease was up this month.

The owners of the Chelsea location also run the Associated in Stuy Town on East 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue (as well as the location on Avenue C at Eighth Street).

The sign at the former Chelsea store points shoppers to the East 14th Street location. Not sure how many people will make that trek. And there isn't any guarantee that the East 14th Street store will continue to operate as Associated.

However, there's hope. Principal owner Joseph Falzon and his partners have reportedly been working with Blackstone to come to an agreement for the Stuy Town Associated before their lease expires for that store in 2017, according to the Town & Village Blog.

H/T Bayou!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Associated owners not having any luck shopping for a lease renewal on East 14th Street (34 comments)

Petition drive underway to help save the Stuy Town Associated on East 14th Street

Report: New Stuy Town owner pledges to keep a grocery story on East 14th Street, but it may not be Associated

Danny's Cycles closing East Village location

The moving sign arrived in the window Saturday at the longtime cycle shop at 332 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



Per the sign, Danny's — with a dozen locations in NYC and Connecticut — is moving to Sixth Avenue and 15th Street. However, regulars count this as a closure as opposed to a move — the Chelsea location has been there for a number of years.

According to several customers of Danny's (formerly Metro Bikes), the closure/move comes as the result of a rent increase via the landlord. (ID'd as the Brusco Group, an afflilate of Westside Management Corp.)

There are also approved permits on file with the Department of Buildings to "add horizontal extension at floors 1-5" that will increase the overall square footage of No. 332.

Photos via Edmund John Dunn

Rent hike forcing Marjory Warren to close on East 9th Street

Marjory Warren, a women's clothing and accessories boutique at 309 E. Ninth St., will close at the end of November thanks in part to a rent increase.

The boutique moved to this storefront between First Avenue and Second Avenue from the Upper East Side in 2009. Aside from the rent increase, owner Chris Warren cited a building tax and a decline in foot traffic that never recovered after Hurricane Sandy as other factors in the closure.

Per a statement to us:

"It's been a heart wrenching process,” said Warren. "I've tried to keep this up and running for as long as possible, but it's simply not viable at this point.

"I'm brokenhearted that I have to leave this wonderful little street. But I have to come back here for business every week so I know I can stay connected to the neighborhood and that offers me solace."

She was able to find a new storefront back on the Upper East Side (115 E. 96th St. near Park Avenue). The new location is set to open on Dec. 2.

As for the East Village location, there's a moving party tonight from 6-9. Find details here.

Rent hike forcing Sunrise Cleaners to close on East 3rd Street

Sunrise Cleaners at 60 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue will be closing soon.

An EVG reader and Sunrise customer reports that the landlord (Tomar Equities) offered Susan the owner a 5-year-lease renewal with a 66-percent rent increase. Which is insane and the reality around here.

A listing shows an asking rent of $4,500 for 525 square feet.

End of an Era: Rent hike KOs East 9th Street boutique

[Photo via Racked]

Grey Era, the 3-year-old boutique at 435 E. Ninth St., is closing next month.

"The building got sold and I got priced out — familiar story around here," owner Sierra Fromberg told us. (Jared Kushner bought the building back in the fall of 2012.)

Fromberg doesn't have any plans to relocate as of now.

Meanwhile, everything must go at the shop between First Avenue and Avenue A.

"I am officially closing as of Nov. 16 unless everything sells before then, including all clothing and furniture," said Fromberg. (You can head to the store's Facebook page or Instagram account for details on sale items.)

And as for the neighborhood…

"I have loved more than anything the true sense of community that is unique to the East Village," she said. "Having grown up in the city, I have lived and worked in almost every neighborhood, and nowhere comes close to feeling so much like a little family as it does here."