First 2 photos by Miriam Abrahams; the rest by Stacie Joy
On Tuesday afternoon, workers cleared out Anwar (going recently as Akter) Grocery at 166 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...
The clean-out preceded a visit by the Marshal, noting the business is now in legal possession of the landlord... (an eviction notice arrived on July 5).
Anwar Hossein had owned and operated the shop since 2005. He and his family have lived in an apartment upstairs dating to 1998. (His father had been a tenant since 1988.)
Hossein previously owned two other stores in the neighborhood — A&H Grocery at 204 Avenue A and Ahn Newsstand and Candy store at 500 E. 12th St., both long shuttered.
He previously told Stacie Joy that things were difficult for the shop in recent years — the pandemic only adding to the woes. A new landlord bought the building in 2018, and his lease expired in December 2019.
There have been multiple court dates between the two sides before Tuesday's action.
This was one of the more public evictions we've seen recently. Workers emptied out the store, placing its contents, including beer, cigarettes, rolling papers and personal-care products, on the sidewalk for passersby to take ... (The Hosseins were not seen during this time, and it's not known what their housing status is.)
The old-school-style shop had some unusual items for sale, such as DVD copies of a Nickelback concert, blank TDK cassette tapes and VHS videotapes. There were also religious amulets, sombreros, school supplies and some hardcore adult DVDs with titles like "Anal Pleasures" (and left on the sidewalk).
And a final look inside the shop...
However functional, the more recent delis and groceries have a bland sameness with the ambiance of an airport galleria.
Anwar, with the owners who lived upstairs, was definitely the last of its kind in this neighborhood.
And from this spring... Sheila and Anwar Hossein...
