Jerry's New York Central is closing on 4th Avenue

Several EVG readers (including Sheila Meyer and Ryan) shared this news... Jerry's New York Central, the art-supply store at 111 Fourth Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street, is closing.

The shop sent out postcards last week about the closing sale... the info is now posted on their website...



No word on the reasons for the closure at the moment. We reached out to the store and home office for more info.

This location was an offshoot of Jerry's Artarama, a 15-store art-supply chain headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Jerry's opened on Fourth Avenue in late 2013, taking over the space from Utrecht Art Supplies (now Blick), who moved into a new store on 13th Street between University and Fifth Avenue. (As reported in October 2013, Jerry's signed a 10-year lease for 4,452 square feet of ground floor space. Asking rent for the deal was $125 per square foot, per a release announcing the deal.)

As New York Central Art Supply was preparing to close at 62 Third Ave. in 2016 after nearly 111 years of business, Doug Steinberg worked with David and Ira Goldstein, who own Jerry's, to acquire the remaining paper inventory of the store.

With Jerry's closing this spring, the Blick outposts at 1-5 Bond St. and 21 E. 13th St. will be the remaining art-supplies stores in the immediate area.

Mandala Tibetan Store is closing on St. Mark's Place

The family-owned Mandala Tibetan Store is closing at 17 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Thanks to Steven for the tip and photo!)

The last day for the shop, which sells traditional Tibetan and Buddhist wares as well as clothing and jewelry from India and Thailand, is Feb. 15.

The owners posted this message on Instagram:

With a heavy heart, after 16+ years our store on St. Mark's Place will be closing on Feb 15. We’ve enjoyed every one and every moment while we’ve been here. Everything in the store will be 50% off until we close.

The owners also have stores in Park Slope and Williamsburg, which will remain open.

Foot Gear Plus has closed on 1st Avenue

Foot Gear Plus is now closed on the southwest corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

As we first reported back on July 11, Tony Scifo, who opened the shop here in 1980, recently made the difficult decision to close his family-fun business on July 31.

Scifo told this to EVG contributor Stacie Joy:

"After several years of peaks and valleys in business there were just too many valleys. Companies now sell direct to consumers and once they started offering free shipping it was all over. This is happening everywhere, not just locally.

The landlord wanted us to stay. She offered us a fair price and she's been great. We just couldn't make it."

No word just yet on who the next tenant might be in this high-profile corner space.

After nearly 40 years, Foot Gear Plus is closing on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place

[Photos by Stacie Joy]

Tony Scifo, who opened Foot Gear Plus at 131 First Ave. and St. Mark's Place in 1980, recently made the difficult decision to close his family-fun business at the end of the month.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the store yesterday and spoke with Scifo. Here are excerpts from the conversation...

"The 31st of July is the last day at Foot Gear Plus. I made the decision to close about three months ago. After several years of peaks and valleys in business there were just too many valleys. Companies now sell direct to consumers and once they started offering free shipping it was all over. This is happening everywhere, not just locally.

We offered great merchandise and great service — no gimmicks. But we just can't compete with online.

The landlord wanted us to stay. She offered us a fair price and she's been great. We just couldn't make it.

We're cleaning out merchandise now — everything is 20 percent off with limited stock/sizes. Prices might drop a little bit more before we close for good, but we might not have too much more inventory. Come in now if you need shoes but there's no hard sell. You can save a few dollars.

We have no plans to have an online store and no plans to reopen. After 40 years I want to spend time with my family and see what's next. You know in 40 years I don't think we ever opened even a few minutes late."

Village Kids Footwear, which Tony's sister Linda Scifo-Young operated a few storefronts away, closed late last summer.

I.Q. Decor closing on 14th Street

[Photos via EVG reader Shiv]

Several EVG readers have pointed out the IQ Decor is closing on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



Closing signs arrived last week at the store that sells discounted toys, housewares, rubber boots, cleaning products, NYC gifts, luggage, etc., etc. (Last day for now is Feb. 28.)

The Saving$ Paradise shop at 250 E. 14th St. merged with I.Q. Decor in the spring of 2016.

This closure, I believe, brings an end to any discounted shops on 14th Street between Avenue B and Third Avenue.

H/T EVG reader Jen!

Cadet is closing on 9th Street

Brooklyn-based designers Raúl Arévalo and Bradley Schmidt, who create military-academy-inspired menswear for their Cadet brand, are closing up shop on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

A for rent sign has been hanging above the shop, which opened in the spring of 2013, for several months now.

The Cadet sidewalk sign notes sales of up to 90-percent off... along with a few fucking laments...





This is the second high-end menswear store to close in the East Village this month. After 12 years in business, Odin shut down its location on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Last splash: The Deep End Club is closing on 1st Avenue

After nearly three years at 156 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street, the Deep End Club is closing up shop.

Proprietor Tennessee Thomas posted this on her Instagram...

It's hard to sustain a business on Peace & Love alone- and unfortunately with high NYC rents, on July 31st we'll be closing our (physical) Door! For 3 magical years we've used 156 1st Ave. to promote peace & love 💘 It has been our clubhouse & birthed NICE AS FUCK! The band has taken the message on tour, & what a beautiful note to end our east village experience on! We'll be celebrating this Friday with a performance- in the window where the band was formed! The Deep End Club will definitely re-emerge in another form in the future.. But thedeependclub.com in the meantime! Here's to PEACE AND LOVE! 💋

A photo posted by Tennessee Thomas (@tennesseebunny) on Jul 28, 2016 at 8:36am PDT

Nice As Fuck is the supergroup with Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Erika Forster (Au Revoir Simone) and Thomas on drums. Last week the trio made their debut on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Thomas first opened the 60s-style vintage boutique featuring items from local artists and designers as a pop-up shop ... and decided to keep it going. The Deep End Club also hosted environmental workshops and impromptu concerts.

The shop's name came from her father, Pete Thomas, the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello & the Attractions.

Per Billboard: in 2014:

"He had a thing called the Deep End Club when he was young and crazy," says the 29-year-old shop owner and drummer. On tour, in his younger years, her father would jump into hotel swimming pools fully clothed whenever someone declared "a Deep End Club meeting."

Sales will continue on the Deep End website.

Santos Variety Shop is closing on Avenue C

The shop at 77 Avenue C between Fifth Street and Sixth Street will be closing on July 25.

The owner, who is 80, has decided to retire... so for the next few weeks, Santos, which sells various religious artifacts, such as candles, statues and incense, will be unloading its inventory...







The circa-1950s canisters of Saint Mark powdered incense were going for $1.50.

MetroPCS has closed on East 14th Street

That's all for this MetroPCS outpost on East 14th Street at First Avenue... the landlord has taken possession of the premises, as these photos via EVG regular dwg show...



This location seemed to be a good spot for a stick up... as it was robbed twice that we can recall in early 2012...

As for MetroPCS, you won't have to travel far to find another one. According to the The Center for an Urban Future, MetroPCS is the third largest chain store in NYC with 323 outposts in 2015, trailing only Dunkin' Donuts (568) and Subway (444).

Final visits to 5 downtown businesses

[Patricia Field, center with red hair, with her friends and fans in front of her namesake store on its closing day Sunday at 5 p.m.]

Text and photos by Nick McManus

This past Sunday, a team of close friends and I took group portraits at five downtown businesses that are either moving from their longtime homes or closing forever as February came to a close.

We started at Patricia Field at 306 Bowery with Patricia herself. She's giving up the boutique business after 50 years to focus on her film and TV work.

We continued on to Trash and Vaudeville on St. Mark's Place where we were joined by longtime manager Jimmy Webb. (The store is moving to 96 E. Seventh St. this month.)




[Jimmy Webb in the front row with co-workers at Trash and Vaudeville]

We then walked to Soho to Pearl River Mart, where the staff was camera shy but let us take photos in the store on Broadway. The 45-year-old Pearl River Mart closes this week after its monthly rent multiplied 12x to upwards of $500,000.


[Last purchases at Pearl River Mart]

Afterward we visited the Soho location of Eastern Mountain Sports on Broadway to offer them warm wishes before heading back to the East Village to say goodbye to one of the best bookstores NYC will ever know, St. Mark's Bookshop.


[The staff and patrons of Eastern Mountain Sports' Soho location on its closing day Sunday]


[St. Mark's Bookshop staff member and artist Janet Bruesselbach, top right, sharing wine with her customers on the shop's final day at 7 p.m.]

Our team consisted of nightlife scion Pebbles Russell, who herself said goodbye to her home at Sway Lounge last December, artists Gabriel Specter and Jackson Lin, stylist Goldie Rush, costume tailor Amy McClure and Cara Brininstool. All were fans of these businesses and everyone did a great deal of shopping as we thanked those behind the counter for so many years of good times.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Closing time: Portraits of 3 newly shuttered storefronts

Closing portraits at The Sock Man

A final group photo at Vic's Pizza on Essex Street

Tatyana Boutique is closing on the Bowery

The upscale fashion brand that sells retro dresses, shoes and accessories is closing its outpost in the Avalon Bowery Place complex at East First Street.



The store is expected to wrap it up next Monday... or possibly a few days after that, according to an email to customers that an EVG reader forwarded to us.

The Las Vegas-based chain (it launched at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino) with a dozen locations in the United States (and one in Toronto) started its life on the Bowery in late 2012 as Bettie Page Clothing. (A lawsuit took care of the licensing rights.)

This marks the third high-end store in several blocks here on the Bowery to close... Patricia Fields recently announced that she is closing her Bowery storefront, telling the Times that at age 74, she is "no longer interested in devoting the time necessary to operating this place." In addition, Environment Furniture is shutting down its retail space two blocks to the north on the Bowery.

Tough retail Environment? Upscale furniture shop closing on the Bowery

Environment Furniture, which "creates timeless contemporary collections for the home that respect the planet," is having a going-out-of-business sale at its showroom on the Bowery between Great Jones and East Fourth Street...



The Environment website described their location this way:

In the heart of the bustling hip neighborhood of the Bowery, iconic destination for the underground art world and music community. Footsteps away from the Bowery Hotel, Il Buco and former CBGB historic location.

The store arrived in 2012... and later expanded into the adjacent space at 350 Bowery (previously Gallery 151).

Last days for Allied Hardware on 2nd Avenue

The family-run business is wrapping it up here at 59 Second Ave. between East Third Street and East Fourth Street after closing sales these past few weeks.

EVG reader Danielle Baskin stopped by the store yesterday, and learned that the owners have to turn over their keys to landlord Icon Realty on Friday. An auctioneer is coming by later today to take things in bulk, so there might not be too much left.

And a few of the items on the shelf look as if they have been here as long as the store has these past 30-plus years…





Danielle also notes that the owners have sold the 33-year-old front signage — for $100…

And the sign came down last evening...


[Photo via @JwalkinNYC]

Apparently there's also a second Allied sign that lights up that is also for sale, though there aren't any bids yet.

The hardware store had apparently been on a month-to-month lease with the previous owner. Icon, who bought the building earlier this year, is now asking $26,000 for the space.

Top 3 photos via Danielle Baskin

Previously on EV Grieve:
57 Second Ave. hits the market for $30 million

Reader report: Icon Realty new owner of 57 Second Ave.

Last day for Alex Shoe Repair on 2nd Avenue

Allied Hardware makes impending closure official on 2nd Avenue

Closing time: Portraits of 3 newly shuttered storefronts

Photographer Nick McManus is a group portrait artist who works on Impossible Project Polaroids for gallery exhibition here in New York City. This past weekend, he scheduled and shot group portraits of workers at Sounds on St. Mark's Place and Rainbow Music on First Avenue, which closed for good on Sunday. (The Sounds closing date is up in the air still.)

In addition, he visited the original location for Bicycle Habitat on Lafayette, which is closing today. (The shop is consolidating spaces after a large rent increase.)





"I felt it was important to give back to them after so many years of personally enjoying their music and bike services," said McManus, who has been regularly taking these group portraits at business closings.

In each case, he presents the owners with a copy of the portraits — "a physical souvenir of a place they'll miss dearly meant a lot to them."

I asked McManus what the mood was like as these owners were closing up their shops.

At Rainbow Music, owner Bill "Birdman" Kasper "was ready for this to happen. He will be selling CDs on the street in Greenpoint in the near future. The mood was something that could be described in the words of George Harrison, 'All Things Must Pass.'

Over at Bicycle Habitat, the co-owner Charlie McCorkell looked like he would miss his little desk in the back center of a store he's worked out of since 1978. Though they've expanded to four other locations, one of which is on the same block and will consolidate with the other one, the original high-ceilinged wood and iron interior of their original location will be missed as something he spent most of his adult life in and no place would ever equal it. At the moment of the portrait though, the mood was less somber and more work busy as he posed with a staff that knew they had a lot of moving and and clearing ahead of them so that the store would be completely out by [today] when Charlie had to turn over the keys."

You can find more of McManus's work via Instagram.

Allied Hardware makes impending closure official on 2nd Avenue

Earlier this year, when Icon Realty became the new owner of 57 Second Ave., a reliable source told us that the two retail tenants here between East Third Street and East Fourth Street would be closing in the months ahead.

Alex Shoe Repair shut down at the end of July. The cobbler had been paying $4,000 in monthly rent. The new asking price is $14,000 a month.

Now Allied Hardware has posted closing signs … with sales on everything (but keys) …



We're not sure what the family who runs Allied pays in monthly rent. According to the listing at the Icon website, the new asking rent is $26,000 … with a space "perfect For: Restaurant, bar, clothing store, salon, and all general retail uses."

Previously on EV Grieve:
57 Second Ave. hits the market for $30 million

Reader report: Icon Realty new owner of 57 Second Ave.

Last day for Alex Shoe Repair on 2nd Avenue

Burkina (aka Got it 4 cheap™) closes on First Avenue

[Photo of Ahmed Sankara from February 2014 by Stacie Joy]

In early 2014, word spread that hip-hop clothing shop Burkina NYC was closing up shop on First Avenue near East Fourth Street.

However, their $5 fire sale was apparently so successful, owner Ahmed Sankara decided to sign a new lease in February ... and change the name of the store to Got it 4 cheap™ (or Gifu™), specializing in selling hip-hop and NYC-branded clothing for $5.99.

Apparently Sankara couldn't make it work any longer... EVG reader Creature let us know that the shop has been cleared out ... and the space is for rent...



Burkina moved here in the fall of 2011 after 16 years on East Houston.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Burkina renews lease for First Avenue

Burkina is now Got it 4 cheap™ on First Avenue

The 99-Cent Discount Center has officially closed

Workers were clearing out the storefront yesterday at 440 E. 14th St. … carting off the remnants in these bags…



As previously noted, the store owners lost their lease … joining former next-door neighbor Stuyvesant Stationery in that club here just west of Avenue A.

With the departure of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office, there are now three, single-level storefronts sitting vacant … presumably to make way for some future development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
99-Cent Discount Center latest lost-lease casualty on East 14th Street

Thanks to the anon EVG reader for the photos

99-Cent Discount Center latest lost-lease casualty on East 14th Street

[Photo by EVG Facebook friend Cheryl Pyle]

The crowded shop here with a little bit of everything at 440 E. 14th St. just west of Avenue A is closing this week ... lost their lease.

The 99-Cent Discount Center joins former next-door neighbor Stuyvesant Stationery in the Lost Least Club. And, of course, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office closed in February and reopened a retail space a block away.


[The former post office on Saturday]

So now three, single-level storefronts all in a row will be vacant ... prompting some discussion among EVG regulars again about the possibility of new development along here. Perhaps something like what's going in to the east on 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Meanwhile, there's nothing on file with the DOB to suggest any new buildings for 438 or 440 E. 14th St.



Previously on EV Grieve:
First sign of more development on East 14th Street?


[EVG file photo from September 2013]

After 20 years, Magic Fingers, Old Good Things closing on East 10th Street

After 20-plus years, longtime East Village resident Susan Leelike is closing her shop, Magic Fingers, Old Good Things, at 220 E. 10th St. (Between First Avenue and Second Avenue.)

Costume jewelry and collectibles are 25 percent to 50 percent off ... as the sign below reads...The store hours are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 3-7 p.m.



While a rent hike is the usual culprit in these situations... Leelike reports that it wasn't a greedy landlord that helped lead to the closing of her shop that specializes in vintage accessories. She cites a combination of a bad economy and some health issues... and it all leaves her with mixed feelings.

"I am both happy and sad about the closing," she said in an email.

UPS can't even afford the East Village

EV Grieve mailbox correspondent Blue Glass notes that the UPS store at 168 Second Ave. near 11th Street has closed...

...the sign on the door explains why....