I'd been wondering about the west side of Fourth between 10th & 11th. With a couple of stores empty or close to it, and containing some small one or two storey structures, it seemed an irresistible development target. Yes, indeed. Today South Slope News reported the closure of the 474 coffee shop (tomorrow's their last day), & its purchase by the Fourth Eleventh Development LLC. But I found out this afternoon that it's not just the little building at 474 disappearing. The whole strip from the corner up to the Borisal liquor store is to be razed. Seems like we'll be needing all the liquor we can get.
Along with 474, the laundromat, and Ana's Style/Imagen Unisex (with its pre 9/11 awning & neon comb & scissors) will be gone. I liked 474, a convenient & friendly stop-off en route to the train, but I liked even more the business it replaced. It was more of a shed-like structure then, and you could buy hot, fragrant home made soup and tamales. I'm just so sad that this block is destined for a 500 Fourth-like behemoth, a wall of condos (prime views on the other side), blocking our light, and bringing us nothing but more wealthy residents and some shitty medical office space.
It's seems so monstrously injust to lose more and more of the sky, sold to the highest bidder. And to see more and more small businesses lost.
There's one small piece of good news though. I spoke to one of the guys from Danny's Rim & Tires, out walking Scooby, the dog you usually see sitting out front of the shop. Scooby's getting on now (sixteen) and not as spry as he used to be. Anyway, despite pressures to sell out, Danny's is staying put, for the foreseeable future. There were plans to rent out the corner storefront, but nothing is happening there immediately. They're planning to spiff the business up a bit, and stick around.
Update (4/2/13): I'm happy to report that that I was wrong about the size of the development parcel. Ana's is not part of it, & will be staying in business at this address. A nugget of good news!
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