Carmine's IHOP
As we heard this past summer, IHOP signed a 49-year lease for the corner of Carmine and Varick, paying $300,000 per year and setting off a panic about its potential impact on a street that has remained authentically New York. As the Observer put it in a headline, this move is "Effectively Stabbing Village in Heart."
Now that heart-stabbing IHOP shows itself with blue awnings, signage, and the warning "Coming Soon."
What does this mean for the neighboring mom-and-pops? Carmine Street is a place of survivors--though much has been lost--but for how long? Already, Unoppressive, Non-Imperialist Bargain Books is struggling. All of them are in the crosshairs of Big Development.
The real estate agent who brokered IHOP's deal told the Wall Street Journal that Carmine, "was a dumpy street. Now it's top-notch." IHOP is "a big brand, and it'll help me convince other big brands to follow. People don't even know where Carmine Street is--yet. We'll fix that."
These suburban chains don't come here by accident. They are lured here as part of Big Development's overarching plan for the city, and Bloomberg opens the door wide. The Center for an Urban Future just released their exhaustive report "State of the Chains 2012," finding that "the number of chain stores in New York City increased for the fifth straight year." And that runaway train shows no sign of stopping in 2013--an Applebee's is coming to Coney Island's Surf Avenue.
Previously:
Carmine Survivors
Lost on Carmine
Chain Stores in the City
Now that heart-stabbing IHOP shows itself with blue awnings, signage, and the warning "Coming Soon."
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| Photo thanks to Richie Cohen |
What does this mean for the neighboring mom-and-pops? Carmine Street is a place of survivors--though much has been lost--but for how long? Already, Unoppressive, Non-Imperialist Bargain Books is struggling. All of them are in the crosshairs of Big Development.
The real estate agent who brokered IHOP's deal told the Wall Street Journal that Carmine, "was a dumpy street. Now it's top-notch." IHOP is "a big brand, and it'll help me convince other big brands to follow. People don't even know where Carmine Street is--yet. We'll fix that."
These suburban chains don't come here by accident. They are lured here as part of Big Development's overarching plan for the city, and Bloomberg opens the door wide. The Center for an Urban Future just released their exhaustive report "State of the Chains 2012," finding that "the number of chain stores in New York City increased for the fifth straight year." And that runaway train shows no sign of stopping in 2013--an Applebee's is coming to Coney Island's Surf Avenue.
Previously:
Carmine Survivors
Lost on Carmine
Chain Stores in the City
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