by Emma Davey BE Yarn (784 Manhattan Ave.), a stalwart local business, recently shared with customers that they would soon close after more than 30 years in Greenpoint.
Greenpointers reached out to Barbara, BE Yarn’s owner, for more details about the situation. Barbara (who declined to give her last name for the story) told us that the landlord decided to raise the monthly rent by $2,000 to bring it in line with other commercial rents in the area.
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Greenpointers has covered Greenpoint & Williamsburg since 2007 — community boards, rezoning fights, local businesses, and the people whose lives and work give the neighborhood its character. Local news is collapsing across the country, but we're still here: independently owned, no corporate backing, no paywall. 18+ years, 280k+ monthly readers and followers, funded by the community we serve.
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This is very sad. The high rents are making it impossible for anyone to live or work here. All the stores with character are leaving. We are left with banks, weed dispensaries, and over priced coffee shops.
This is so sad I go there to buy yarn.thread buttons zippers patches whatever I need , so sorry that this had to happen I hope they dont relocate to far away
I am very sorry to hear this..There is no where in the neighborhood where you can find the things that BE Yarn has. It is a shame and I do hope you find another store somewhere close by. It is true that Manhattan Ave. is starting to look not only like a “Ghost Town” but slummy and dirty..Graffiti on the windows of the closed stores, etc…I don’t understand the reasoning behind raising rents so high that the property stays empty sometimes over a year or so. How much do the owners think these small stores can pull in every month? As a third generation Greenpointer I am truly saddened by what is happening to Manhattan Ave. . I wish the owners of BE Yarn prosperity and success in their future endeavors. You will be missed!
Face it NYC is dying ,never mind Manhattan Ave. You know what’s killing it? Transplants are. They are killing every neighborhood. They cry about how everything is costing so much , when all along they are the cause of it. Don’t count on Comrade Mandani helping you. You people don’t even know you’re born.