Results tagged “closing”

Even though he mentioned that 20 fire companies would be closed to save $5.6 million to help the city's grim budget, the Daily News reports that Mayor Bloomberg will hold off on the closures, just in case the state comes through with some funds, saying, "I'm going to wait and see... We don't have a budget yet, and until then, there's no reason to do anything. There is a requirement of 45 days' notice before you close a company or a firehouse and we will comply with the law." The News says he was expected to send out the notices yesterday, but now he wants to see the city's tax revenue over the next few weeks. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Two very different bars with two very different clienteles have unexpectedly closed today. The worst news first: Blue and Gold Tavern, the venerable East Village dive with the pool table and the booths and the underage drinking, is no more. Fork in the Road reports that it's been completely gutted from floor to ceiling, and workers doing the renovations were not sure if Blue and Gold would re-open. And if even if it does, "it'll certainly be a different animal." more ›

Yesterday, hundreds of people protested the closing of St. Vincent's, the Greenwich Village hospital whose financial troubles have caused its downfall. They carried a coffin that said "No ER = DOA" from 25th Street and 9th Avenue to the hospital at 7th Avenue and 12th Street while demonstrators said, "Many people are going to die because of this," and "Save our hospital!" while recounting how the hospital saved their lives. more ›

After Saturday's walkout and subsequent closing down of Gorilla Coffee, the former staff has said this is not a strike and they have no intention of going back. Diner's Journal has a full statement from the former staff, which alludes to issues with a "business partner," most likely co-owner Carol McLaughlin, and "a lack of mutual respect" between the owners and the staff. It accuses McLaughlin of creating a “perpetually malicious, hostile, and demeaning work environment," and when she wouldn't resign the staff decided to quit. Other owner Darleen Scherer said the walkout was "a complete surprise." more ›

The Department of Education mailed out thousands of inaccurate letters to parents informing them that their children attend schools that are failing. The botched mailing—which was sent to parents of students at 16 schools citywide including Brooklyn's esteemed Edward R. Murrow High School—stated that under federal law, students had the right to transfer to a better school. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Hipster olde tymers may recall the big Williamsburg Starbucks scare of Aught One, when anti-chain activist Reverend Billy rallied his troops to protest outside a rumored location at the corner of North 5th and Bedford. Funny enough, during the rally, the new tenants suddenly appeared to explain away the rumor—it was "Fabiane's Pastry and Cafe, an Independent Pastry Experience," on the way, not Starbucks. Nine years later, the ubiquitous coffee corp. has yet to find a foothold in the neighborhood, but all that may be about to change. more ›

After a brush with death in 2008, The Ohio Theatre, an indispensable nerve center of NYC's theater scene for 29 years, will be dispensed with on August 31st. The new landlord has issued an official notice and no further negotiations are scheduled. If you're one of those people who cares about theater as art, you know what a loss this is. As artistic Director Robert Lyons puts it, the Ohio "is where Tony Kushner produced his first play out of college, where Philip Seymour Hoffman made his professional acting debut, where Eve Ensler performed Dicks in the Desert, a decade before writing The Vagina Monologues. The Ohio Theatre has been an incubator and platform for New York’s most exciting and innovative theatre artists for almost 30 years. Its closing emphatically punctuates the end of an era in Soho." more ›

After two days of closing arguments from defense lawyer Richard Murray (during which the judge asked him to stop rambling), prosecutors are closing out the trial of three officers accused of participating in the sodomy of a man during his arrest in 2008. Prosecutor Charles Guria insisted this afternoon that Michael Mineo is the victim here, and derided the defense's claim that he self-inflicted his anal injuries in order to sue the city. "Before there were lawsuits, Michael Mineo was showing blood on his hands," Guria reminded jurors today, City Room reports. more ›

Snow noes, the teenagers are going to be running amok tonight! The Mayor's office has preemptively announced that all NYC public schools are going to be closed tomorrow out of panic that this time the impending snowmageddon will actually happen, as our venerable seers portend. Over a foot of snow is expected starting early tomorrow morning, but throughout tonight, expect adolescents to run (more) wild in the streets (than usual). Then they'll sleep half the day away tomorrow, rising for The Price is Right, followed by a mass high-jacking of snow plows to make sure roads remain impassable through the weekend. Rules were made to be frozen! more ›

The budget art supply store Pearl Paint is closing some of its locations—however its Canal Street shop will remain open. The Times reports that the discount art shop is shuttering storefronts nationwide, including its custom-framing shop on Lispenard Street, sparking "rumors that even the Canal Street store itself is in danger." However an employee at the Canal Street location told Gothamist "the frame shop is closing, but the main building is remaining open." Business experts told the paper that downsizing is "probably a wise move at this stage even though it's painful" because the art supply store operates "in an industry that's not really moving at the moment." more ›

M2 Ultra Lounge may not get a second chance from the DOH. After yesterday's tribunal hearing, the city is vowing to close at least one of the five clubs brought forth to defend themselves for violating the Smoke-Free-Air Act. Lawyer Thomas Merrill told the Daily News "We made it clear we will go forward and we are not interested in making a deal." Though all five clubs are in danger of getting their licenses revoked, M2 is apparently the worst violator. more ›

After laying off 180 employees in December, St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village may be in even further danger of closing. The Post reports today that Continuum Health Services—which operates Beth Israel, St. Luke's and Roosevelt Hospital—has proposed a plan to take over St. Vincent's. GE Capital and TD Bank hold $300 million of the hospital's current $700 million debt, and both allegedly support the Continuum takeover. But the new ownership would come at a considerable cost to hospital care. more ›

Fox 5 News is the latest media outlet to catch on to the plight of Ray's Candy Store, an Alphabet City hole-in-the-wall still selling classic New York concoctions (and where this blogger got her first egg cream for $1.50 in 1999). Ray is in danger of being booted from his space due to rising rents and the expensive repairs needed, but the neighborhood is rallying to help. more ›

The NY Times is the latest media outlet to chime in on the dire fate looming over Ray’s Candy Store, the 24-hour burger/fries/shake hole-in-the-wall that's been in operation on Avenue A since 1974. Though there's not much new here for those who have been following the sad plight of 76-year-old owner Ray Alvarez—in 2000, the building's owner raised Ray's rent from $800 a month to $3,500, and is now threatening to evict him because he's two months behind—there are some sad quotes. "If they terminate this store, my life will be terminated, too," Alvarez tells the Times. "I like to be around people, and if I can’t be here it’s going to be sad, depressing." And one longtime regular who routinely holds court at Ray's observes that the store is one of the last remaining relics of Alphabet City's gritty past: "When there was nothing else around, Ray was around." more ›

Greenpoint's Club Exit has announced their closure after 15 years in business (via a sign on their door... and website). Owner Mariusz Kupiec told the Brooklyn Paper: “We’re just tired with the scene." That scene has become a rowdy one over the years, with regulars even admitting "they’ve come to expect a punch or two thrown by closing time every weekend." Recently those punches have, at times, even escalated into gunfire! Perhaps the next person to take over the space should turn it into a tea lounge or yoga studio. more ›

For over three decades, Ray's Candy Store [MySpace], the burger, shake, etc. joint, has occupied a hole-in-the-wall on Avenue A across the street from Tompkins Square Park. As you may recall, the past year has been extremely tough on elderly owner Ray Alvarez, who's got health problems, has fallen behind on his rent, and had to deal with Muslim fundamentalists shaking him down for free coffee. Today Neither More Nor Less reports that one of the last vestiges of the old Alphabet City is on the verge of closing. more ›

After 30 years in business, Frank's Deli on Ninth Avenue near 20th Street is closing, and the locals are bereft. "People have been coming in in tears," local Nick Fritsch tells Chelsea Now. Coffee still costs 25 cents, and you can get a sandwich for under four bucks. The building's new owner has informed the deli's eponymous 80-year-old operator, Francisco Lobelle, a.k.a. Frank, that his lease would not be renewed. "It’s just devastating for the neighborhood," says Barney Karpfinger, a local literary agent. "One of the things that makes New York great are these small, personal places. Frank’s was gathering place for everybody in the neighborhood—people from projects, rich people who own fancy apartments, people from the seminary and everybody in between. He is just a decent, unfailingly polite, kind and funny guy." more ›

Glittery Central Park tourist trap and celebrity banquet hall Tavern on the Green will serve its last mediocre meal on New Year's Eve. Earlier this year, the current operators filed for bankruptcy after their license to run the restaurant was not renewed by the city, and next month artifacts such as silver candelabras, stone sculptures, art nouveau mirrors, and Tiffany lamp shades will go up on the auction block. more ›

The owner of Williamsburg's Monkey Town tells us there's "the tiniest pinprick of light under the door" suggesting that he may not have to close down his eclectic restaurant and performance space on January 24th. According to owner Montgomery Knott, his landlords—a group of four artists who own the building—violated an agreement made over the summer, and he's suing them in state Supreme Court for $1.2 million. If his lawyer can persuade a judge that the landlords violated a signed stipulation, Monkey Town's demise could be delayed. But if that happens, Knott will be in a bind because he stopped programming acts after January 24th. And that's where musician Yoko Ono might come in. more ›

One of the most intriguing restaurants and performances spaces in New York will close next month: RIP Monkey Town, a multi-room destination for adventurous food, performance art, music, and video. Owner Montgomery Knott tells Brooklyn Based that "due to landlord issues" the space will close on January 24th. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] As the current owners of Tavern on the Green prepare to clear out and auction off everything inside the storied Central Park restaurant, it's still far from clear that the place will reopen any time soon under new management. Cantankerous Steve Cuozzo at the Post is alarmed that after all that effort expended by the city to find a new leaseholder for the 19th century sheepfold, it could very well go dark after the LeRoy family leaves. Dean Poll, the owner of Central Park's Boathouse restaurant, won the rights to negotiate the lease to the property, but he hasn't actually signed it yet. At least Cuozzo's not getting all emo about it or anything: more ›

Gino, an old school restaurant on the Upper East Side famous for its zebra wallpaper, chicken cacciatore, and "greatest generation" clientele, is in trouble. Profits have gone down by as much as 70 percent in the last couple of years, and owners and unionized workers have been unable to reach an agreement on a new contract. One of the employees tells City Room that although workers rejected the owners' final proposal, a mysterious buyer is interested in acquiring Gino, which opened in 1945. It's all very speculative at this point, but whatever happens, at least we'll have The Royal Tenenbaums to remember it by. more ›

The Pink Tea Cup, a West Village institution beloved for its greasy ribs, pork chops, sweet potatoes and biscuits, will close January 3rd! The soul-food restaurant opened in 1957 and relocated to its current Grove Street home in 1982. An employee tells Grub Street that a rent increase is pushing it out of the neighborhood, and they're trying to find another location. Though the soul's still warm, Eater notices that a new entity is already applying for a liquor license at a Community Board 2 meeting tonight. Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and the Post's Liz Smith have patronized the place, started by Florida native Mary Raye to serve soul food "made from the heart with sprinkles of love all over." more ›

The New York City annex of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum just opened last November... and now it's going to close on January 3rd! 1010Wins notes that the one-year-wonder gave no reason given for closing, but the CEO told a local Cleveland paper that "the decision was made by corporate partners who had backed the $10 million annex in downtown Manhattan." Earlier this year the space housed a great John Lennon in NYC exhibit... but allegedly attendance over the past year wasn't what the powers that be expected. So, you have a few weeks to check out things like Bruce Springsteen's 1957 Chevy. more ›

In tomorrow's NY Times Arts & Leisure section, page 3 features a big, 4-color ad boasting about the revival of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs (it's sort of like this). However, the Times reports that it "will close on Sunday, and the companion production of Mr. Simon’s 'Broadway Bound' will not open as planned, because of weak ticket sales, according to an executive involved with the production." BBM "opened last Sunday to a mix of modest and positive reviews, but Emanuel Azenberg, the lead producer, had said that rave reviews would be essential to improve box office receipts." more ›

The High Line seems like a lovely place to spend Halloween, no? Too bad for trick or treaters that it's shutting down early Saturday night. Curbed reports that the Parks Department announced: "Due to anticipated heavy event-related crowds in the neighborhood during the Village Halloween Parade, the High Line will be off-limits starting at 5 p.m." The guests of the Standard hotel will likely still be up to their old tricks, however. more ›

Chelsea's Bungalow 8, home to late night celebrity sightings, is shutting down operations. CityFile reports that the Amy Sacco-owned lounge has long been rumored to be closing, but now it's really happening. They shut down for "renovations" weeks ago, but allegedly have no plans to reopen... and their phone line has been disconnected. more ›

After threatening to lay off some 400 employees during the lucrative holiday season, Tavern on the Green has been granted a reprieve. The city had ordered owners to vacate the premises on January 1st and turn over the lease, but owners insisted that deadline would have required them to close down in December, in order to conduct an onsite auction of their assets, which were valued by an appraiser at $8.171 million. Though Tavern's owners had wanted three months for the changeover, a US Bankruptcy Court judge in Manhattan said "two weeks to a month" in January would be "a reasonable transition period." But will the new occupant play along? more ›

The Botanical Station post office in the Bronx is on the chopping block, as the Postal Service faces a $7 billion deficit. The NY Times visits the establishment, one older patron saying she doesn't "know what I would do" if it shut down. The PO's landlord doesn't want to them leave either, "They always pay on time. It’s like money in the bank." The paper notes that this is just one of 15 city post offices that may be shuttered, 7 of which are in the Bronx (here's a list of 14 of them). more ›

Over the weekend it was reported that Cafe des Artistes, the serenely romantic restaurant near Lincoln Center, has closed after more than 90 years in business. The wife of owner George Lang blames the closure on the restaurant's unionized workers, who recently sued the restaurant for unpaid benefits, including medical insurance. Local 100 union president Bill Granfield tells the Times, "We think Mr. Lang is a great figure in the restaurant industry, a great person, and it’s a great restaurant. But it feels like time passed it by a while ago." more ›