Business
Coverage of local establishments.
Thrifters: Recycled and Repurposed Clothing Helps Protect the Environment
By Reva Anna Gujral At Yellow Tag Thrift store, Zoey Alexis, 18, spends her work shift organizing clothing racks and ringing up customers at a vintage cash register with punch keys. She loves what she does in that Green Brook, N.J., store, and she loves the store’s environmental mission. “When you consider how every piece […]
Retailers Hire Social-Media Influencers
By Isabella Ji Spectrum staff On a Monday in April 2020, Kaitlyn Zayas, 19, sat in her living room, recording a social media post about the “happiness” bath bomb and the “luau” facial and body soap bar that had arrived in that day’s mail from one of the retailers she represents online.
Small Landlords: Covid-19 Hit Us, Too
By David Wang Spectrum staff When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York, government officials made protecting tenants a legislative priority. For tenants unable to pay their rent, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a moratorium on evictions until August 20. But now landlords across the state are arguing that government policies are putting them in […]
For Teens, Fewer Summer Jobs
By Tylan Porterfield Staff writer For teens, finding a summer job can be hard to do. “Even if you apply for a fast-food restaurant, companies are looking for prior experience,” said Maddison Harris, 17, of the Bronx. This summer, she is working as a camp counselor at the Bronx Melrose Classic, a position she landed […]
Sidewalk Booksellers Still in Business
By Shreya Paul Staff writer At the start of his workday, on the corner of East 14th Street and Irving Place, Carlos Espada transfers books from cardboard and plastic boxes to a folding table and upside-down milk crates he’s arranged on the sidewalk. The books are for sale. He and his wife, Karina Gushiken, have […]
Indian Eateries Duel for Diners
By Amal Khateeb Spectrum staff The two men stood in front of the respective doorways of their side-by-side restaurants, beckoning diners. “Come in, come in,” the first guy said, waving at people passing by. “No, no, no, this is the one,” the other said, waving, too. From the steps of the single stairway leading […]
Entrepreneurs Want to Spread Positivity
By Christian Richardson Spectrum staff Nia Imani Wellman, 21, designed a mobile app that’s all about hair. R’chelle Ayanna Boyce, 24, designs clothes imprinted with Christian messages and scripture. Every item in the apparel line that Ty’leib Redd, 18, launched is imprinted with “fly,” which stands for “first love yourself.” These young entrepreneurs said they […]
New Grads Navigate Job Market
By Juan Vargas Staff writer Job prospects for new college graduates have improved since the Great Recession, but still haven’t returned to previously higher levels. An improving job market however, doesn’t stop the job search from being difficult. “Technological skills, analytical and data science skills have really emerged in really profound ways and shifted everything […]
Instagram Wants News on Vertical Video Channel
By Sarvani Nori Spectrum staff In addition to being a platform for its existing celebrities and non-celebrity trendsetters and personalities, Instagram’s recently launched vertical video app aims to add news organizations and journalists to its list of users. Instagram executives, however, are in the early stages of figuring out how IGTV, that new video app, […]
A Year After Deadly 2nd Avenue Explosion, Merchants Still Feel Effects
By Alexa-Jada Nelson Spectrum staff Business co-owner Suzanne Levinson considers herself lucky. While several businesses were forced to shut down after a deadly gas explosion on the Lower East Side a year ago, Levinson and her business partner, Omer Shorshi, managed to relocate Pommes Frites to MacDougal Street in one of the busiest parts of […]
Ginger, Black Sesame and Other Asian Accents at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
By Azure Gao Spectrum staff Tourist Chrissy Carroll, 51, strayed from her Weight Watchers routine—she’s dropped 35 pounds—after seeing a stranger savor some lychee-flavored frozen goodness from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. “I’m breaking my diet for this, but it’s completely worth it. I’m totally loving it. It’s so creamy,” Carroll said of the pistachio-flavored cold […]
Local Bakery Keeps Sicilian Legacy Alive
By Anaya White Spectrum staff Whatever you do, said Robert Zerilli, 54, cautioning this reporter, don’t casually refer to the establishment his great-uncle opened in1894 as just another bakery. “It’s pa-STEECH-a-ri-a … pa-STEECH … like ‘teach,’ ” Zerilli said, as he explained how Veniero Pasticceria got its start and how it tries to stay authentically […]
Think Coffee Thinks Ahead
NEW YORK – “We hitchhiked across Honduras in freight trucks overnight,” said Noah Welch, 25, Director of Coffee and International Projects at Think Coffee. This was the first of many trips that Welch would take internationally to inspect the quality of coffee used in Think Coffee stores, seven in New York City and five in […]
A Fresh New Trend in Food
The decrease of unhealthy fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s has steadily met with the increase of healthier food chains. Fresh & Co has gained popularity among New Yorkers through its health-centered menu. It opened 13 stores across New York City between 2010 and 2015 — the newest of which opened in July. In fact, […]
Website Lets Collegiate Renters Rate Landlords
The clicking of computer keys. The slip-slide of computer mice. The sipping of coffee. The sorting and arranging of line upon line of computer codes late into the night. Those are the sounds and activity in the Union Square office of 22-year-old Ofo Ezeugwu, creator and chief executive officer of WhoseYourLandlord.com. The site lets college […]
Food Trucks: Profitable or Not?
Food trucks are a good business for some, but not all, who choose to sell their fare on four wheels. Take Big Gay Ice Cream, for example. In September 2011, that eatery swapped its leased trucks for a brick-and-mortar storefront in the East Village. “We wanted more control,” said Patty Devery, office manager for Big […]
Creator Says Collapsible Cup Curbs Coffee Waste
Product designer Ben Melinger thinks he can cut the number of disposable coffee cups dumped in landfills with his recently created Smash Cup, which, when collapsed, fits into a shirt pocket. Melinger, 34, came up with the idea for Smash Cup after his friends complained about the excess of disposable coffee cups and their impact […]
Beyond Halloween, Costumes Generate Sales
For her Hollywood-themed, July 2014 birthday party, Lashauna Carr peeled a vintage white tuxedo from a rack of costumes at Halloween Adventure. “The atmosphere is creepy and great,” said Carr, 30, describing the West Village costume store where she shopped days before that birthday. Though its gory gear—and its glamorous and other non-gory items—mainly target […]
Chess Fans are Paying to Play
The day Walter DeLoatch and Myles Savage met inside Chess Forum, they readily discovered what they had in common: A desire to hone their chess skills, and to avoid the chess players who regularly compete in nearby Washington Square Park. To DeLoatch and Savage, the park players seemed more concerned about hustling for dollars than […]
Vinyl’s Newest Fans a Lifeline to Record Stores
In an era when digital downloading has put traditional record stores out of business, several Greenwich Village storeowners said they have survived partly because a younger generation of vinyl fans have been their strongest customer base since the mid-2000s. “They realize vinyl sounds better,” said Bob Abramson, owner of the House of Oldies on Carmine […]
Businesses: We Didn’t Enlist With Anti-Bloomberg “Beverage Choices”
At a City Hall rally, businesses protested Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on super-sized, sugary beverages. Some businesses that are listed as members of New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, which opposes Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on super-sized sugary drinks, do not know exactly how they got on that roster. “We do not take a […]
Store Operators Ponder Impact of Digitized Comic Books
Comic bookstore owners are hoping a mobile application designed by industry giant Marvel Comics will, as proposed, not run those who sell printed editions of comic books out of business. At the April 2012 release of the app, designed for Marvel by online comics distributor ComiXology, Marvel officials said a digital library could […]
Eco-entrepreneurs Wedded to Business Model, Mission
Whether on a bicycle or skateboard, customers arriving by energy-saving transportation at Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery’s five locations get a special discount on their order. “It’s designed to create an incentive for the customers. They do something good for the environment and we give them a financial award,” said Maury Rubin, 52, head baker and […]
New Business Sells Filtered Water, Touts Health Benefits
By Janiece Montas Staff writer What the Molecule Project doesn’t do is sell flavored water. Co-owner Adam Ruhr makes that point clear off the top. In fact, the minerals and vitamins he dumps into the water he sells from a new East Village store does not taste so great. Drinking it, though, Ruhr said, benefits […]
Where Scavenging Recyclables is Outlawed, Scavengers Earn Cash
By R.J. Rubio Staff Writer Standing in the pouring rain at the corner of East Fourth Street and Avenue A, Hector Reyes, 51, was razor-focused on the task at hand, shoveling bottles and cans into the machines imprinted with “Redeem 5¢.” Scavenging for recyclable containers that other people throw away is popular among the […]