This stinks, and not just because we have to find a new dry cleaner

The eastern slip of Grand Street, two blocks inland from the FDR, is experiencing a malaise. As a resident, observer, and local real estate professional, this is deeply upsetting, frustrating, and confounding.

Over the past two years, several businesses have closed and have yet to reopen. They include:

East Side Kosher at 504 Grand Street has been shuttered for well over a year, having been closed following a marshal’s eviction. It’s yet to reopen. Word on the street is that it will, that a tenant has been secured, and that it will be a familiar and welcome face. However, that development has yet to take root in the public domain.

Frank’s Bikes at 553 Grand Street. Following the passing of the longtime owner, Frank Arroyo, this neighborhood staple was as much a retail presence as a community gathering place. I am not the only one who wonders what the holiday season will look like this year without Frank’s charming window displays.

ESG Grand Street Butcher at 500 Grand Street. This business, next door to Zafi’s, has also recently closed — supposedly under an unconfirmed shroud of impropriety. This, following the closure of East Side Kosher, is a double whammy for observers of kashrut, i.e., Jewish dietary law.

This past week, another business — Grand Street Cleaners at 507 Grand Street — closed, also following a marshal’s eviction. (Readers may recall that I gave a shout-out to Grand Street Cleaners in my Thanksgiving article, re: “ To the guys at the non-stinky dry cleaners on Grand Street — whose sign says they open at 8 but actually open at 9 — thank you.”) The circumstances behind its closing have yet to surface, but this one has already impacted its patrons.

I looked into the cleaners because this is bad news for my family.

I’ve built a relationship with the folks over there. Not only did they clean and tailor clothing for my household, they helped me with my More For LES swag. (They also eschew odoriferous scents and materials that leave “clean” garments smelling like the grip holes on a shared bowling ball. )

The building itself is owned by 505–507 LLC, which appears to be controlled by Friedman Roth, a real estate brokerage and investment company. The retail space is approximately 800 square feet, having once been home to Murray’s House of Prime Beef.

The fact that four businesses, all within a block of one another, have closed is just plain bad. More, it’s imperative that the local ecosystem function efficiently. This means that:

• Business concepts have to work (and quickly) or fail (and quickly);

• Property owners must ensure that their tenants are neither complacent nor operating “outside the lines”; and

• When closures occur, new tenants are given proper support to maintain continuity.

That Friedman Roth has already listed the space suggests active ownership, which bodes well for reducing the period of vacancy. While it won’t solve the service deficit for dry cleaning, it could be one less shopfront that sits closed on Grand Street.