It was a combination of things. Drop in sales/poor economy, a lot of stores went out on the block so there is not that much foot traffic, the rent is high and Fred Perry opened a store down in SOHO which took a lot of our business. Everything did not happen all at once but it all happened within the past year and has gotten us to where we are now.
"smoothies made with a shot of espresso in them. There is also one with chai and one with mate."
Tyson Beckford knows how to leave an impression -- and skid marks. The supermodel partied with Ice-T and Coco at La Pomme on West 26th Street the other night. After letting everyone know he is the new face of Aprilia, he hopped onto his imported, custom-made $20,000 motorcycle and tore up the street by doing donuts to wow the crowd.
But the recession took a toll, as did customers’ continuing exodus to Brooklyn’s cool neighborhoods — and the $11,000 monthly rent. "It's hard to be competitive on this strip, and we just weren't doing the volume anymore," said Kevin Cole, 39, one of the four owners and an experienced pizza maker, as well as the front man for the rock band the Turbo A.C.'s.
New York City’s pedicab business, by most accounts, began on an East Village side street circa 1995, as a close-knit collective of tricyclists squeezed into a garage next door to the Hells Angels. Tap dancers, undertakers and striptease artists were among the first drivers.
But as the business grew, so did its troubles. Hundreds of new bike operators arrived, pestering tourists and testing the city’s tolerance.
