Rent hike forcing Café Cortadito to close on 3rd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After 18 years in business, Café Cortadito (210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B) is closing at the end of the month. 

Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the popular Cuban restaurant, say they can't afford the landlord's rent hike from $8,000 to $15,000 a month. The last day is this coming Saturday, Jan. 28. (There was also an issue with a large water bill passed along by the landlord during the pandemic. The matter ended up in court, and a judge sided with the landlord.)

The Cortadito team also said that they would be dismantling the curbside dining structure and donating salvageable parts to the nearby community garden and to people who requested a souvenir from the restaurant...

On the positive side, the owners said they would like to stay local and are hoping to relocate elsewhere in the neighborhood — they've already looked at a few available spaces on Second Avenue. 

As for what's next for this space, there's speculation that corner tenant Poco may take over this lease.

Rent hike threatens Avenue C mainstay Casa Adela

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The future of Casa Adela at 66 Avenue C is potentially in jeopardy with a rent hike the owner says is not feasible. 

Friends and supporters of the restaurant that has served authentic Puerto Rican cuisine here between Fourth Street and Fifth Street since 1976 sounded the alarm last week, reaching out to media outlets and local elected officials.

 

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A post shared by Loisaida Realty (@loisaidarealty)

According to organizers and other published accounts, the building's landlord — a Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) — is looking to increase the rent from $1,350 to, eventually, $6,750. 

Nicholas Heller, aka @NewYorkNico, reported this:

The old lease expired a few years ago. Under it, they were paying $1350 per month for the 715 sq ft space. They offered their landlord, a limited equity HDFC cooperative, that they would start to pay $3000 per month, plus 3% increases for each year for 10 years. The landlord refused the offer: their bottom line is $4000 in year one (backdated to august) and $6,750 starting in year two of the lease, and 3% increases after that, which is a 480%+ increase in rent and sure to force the business to close.

On Thursday, community members met at the restaurant and created a Save Casa Adela Committee. 

For now, there is hope a deal can be worked out between owner Luis Rivera and HDFC reps. 

According to Frank Gonzalez of Loisaida Realty, who helped organize the Save Casa Adela Committee, the two sides will meet today. [UPDATE: The meeting is now at 6 p.m. on 12/8]

"[We] hope they can work out a fair deal for our beloved Casa Adela," he said. "As of right now, we are praying for the best but preparing for the worst."

They previously scheduled a press conference at the restaurant for tomorrow and a rally on Saturday morning. Gonzalez said that depending on what happens today, they'll move forward with both events.

Adela Fargas started her namesake business here in 1976.

Before opening Casa Adela at 66 Avenue C, she ran a luncheonette one block to the south. It was there, as a feature in The New York Times from 2015 points out, that she perfected the seasoning for her famed rotisserie chicken.

She died in January 2018 at age 81.

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 dooms East 6th Street mainstay Gandhi

We saw that the gate was down this past weekend at East Sixth Street anchor Gandhi ...

The sign directs people to go to Haveli Banjara around the corner on Second Avenue...



Turns out that this is a permanent closure here at 345 E. Sixth St. just west of First Avenue. A staffer at Haveli confirmed to EVG reader Michael Hirsch that Gandhi has closed for good, that a rent increase pushed out the restaurant.

Gandhi, which opened in 1984, is the second longtime Indian restaurant to close this year on East Sixth Street because of a rent hike. The 42-year-old Mitali East was Cromanated back in March.

Both Gandhi and Mitali East directed their customers to Haveli, just like Banjara did in 2013.

Report: Rent hike forcing the Bourgeois Pig out of its East Village home

[Photo from November 2011]

A rent hike has KO'd the Bourgeois Pig from its 10-year-old home at 117 E. Seventh St., Eater reports.

The fondue-wine place between Avenue A and First Avenue will close after its lease expires in February. However, the Bourgeois Pig faithful can take some solace in that a new location opens next week in the West Village.

The Bourgeois Pig enjoyed worldwide acclaim in 2010 after the front the building (complete with a temporary sidewalk cafe) served as a backdrop during filming for multiple Academy-Award winner "The Smurfs Movie."

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.

Former Avenue A laundromat 'is perfect for anyone with an exciting hip concept for a bar or restaurant'

[EVG file photo]

Kim's Laundromat & Cleaners on the southeast corner of Avenue A and East 13th Street got rent hiked out of business at the end of July.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, brokers are peddling the space for a bar/restaurant.

Here's the pitch via Loop Net:

Former laundromat in the east village. Great corner space on 13th and Avenue A with 50 feet of frontage. Easily vented for a restaurant or bar. total build-out needed. Rent concession will be given for build-out, and will vary on a tenant to tenant basis. 1300 sf

Great corner in the East Village. Surrounded by college students, young professionals, and bar-hoppers, this space is perfect for anyone with an exciting hip concept for a bar or restaurant.

The space is going for $135 per square foot.

Good luck to the potential tenant securing a liquor license in a saturated zone with a business that has never previously had a liquor license…

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Rent hike washes away longtime Avenue A laundromat

Reader report: Rent hike washes away longtime Avenue A laundromat

Kim's Laundromat & Cleaners on the southeast corner of Avenue A and East 13th Street closed yesterday, a victim of a rent hike, according to EVG reader dwg.

Workers were inside cleaning out the space, which has been here a good 30 years.





No word just yet on a new tenant. (Maybe it will stay a laundromat?)

In November 2009, Chico created this tribute to Eric "Taz" Pagan outside the laundromat.



Pagan, a bouncer at the former Forbidden City lounge on Avenue A, was shot and killed trying to break up a fight on Aug. 23, 2009. Pagan was not on duty at the time of the shooting. He was 42.

Report: Hearth hit with a 65% rent increase; plus, sidewalk cafe in the works

Meant to note this the other day... when the Times reported that Danny Meyer's 30-year-old Union Square Cafe will be looking for a new home next year after a rent increase.

The article noted a recent spate of high-profile closings and a continuing rise in rents downtown. Among the restaurants facing a huge rent hike: the well-regarded Hearth on East 12th Street at First Avenue. They were just hit with a 65 percent increase, according to the Times.

There aren't any plans to close the place, but ...

[T]he chef and owner, Marco Canora, said his entire business model may have to change.

“I’m trying to be a smart businessman,” Mr. Canora said. “But I can’t do that at the cost of turning my back on my entire belief system and serving commodity pork and Perdue chicken.”

Meanwhile, here's one way to help increase revenue: Hearth has applied for a sidewalk cafe. They are on the docket for the CB3/SLA committee meeting on July 14.

Min's Market is closing today

[Photo via @TheWeeklyNabe]

Last call today for Min's Market on the southeast corner of Clinton Street and East Houston. Not surprisingly, a rent hike is to blame for this ouster.

Meanwhile, stuff is mostly on sale…



H/T Mike Brown/@Lot71

Yoo's Convenience Store — home of New York's 'best coffee' — going out of business on 2nd Avenue

The time for Yoo's is coming to an end at 50 Second Ave. …



The owner (is it Mr. Yoo?) said that the landlord is doubling his rent. "How can they do this?" he said while shaking his head. "But what are you going to do."

We'll miss the handwritten notes here boasting having the best coffee in the city…

Longtime laundromat on East 10th Street closes on Friday

Back in January we heard that the laundromat on East 10th Street near Second Avenue that has served the neighborhood for so many years will be closing ... We heard that the landlord was asking for an "insane" rent hike.

A reader tells us that Friday is their last day in business. Mimi and her son are saying their goodbyes now to longtime customers.

"Such a nice family. It's really sad to see them go," said the reader.

As for this space, you can probably count on either more ramen... or an upscale eatery from a name chef. Right?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent hike KOs East 10th Street laundromat

Last day for Quantum Leap on First Avenue

On Tuesday, we first reported that Quantum Leap on First Avenue was facing closure after being hit with a hefty rent increase.

Last night, the staff at the vegetarian restaurant confirmed to EV Grieve reader dwg that they were closing after today.

[Photo by Stu_Jo via Flickr]

Will rent hike KO Quantum Leap on First Avenue?

Per EV Grieve reader dwg:

Found out from the staff at Quantum Leap on First Avenue that due to a large rent increase they could be closed as soon as this Sunday. I think this is a great veggie restaurant for the neighborhood and would hate to see it go.

Indeed. No word on the status of the original Thompson Street location.

[Photo by Stu_Jo via Flickr]