the death and life of new york city laundromats
this interesting article in the new york times (for once) illustrates the problems that arise when commercial rents skyrocket in certain neighborhoods, forcing necessary businesses, such as laundromats, to close. this has happened in greenwich village, and i remember an acquaintance telling me that she has a great, cheap apartment on madison avenue on the upper east side which she can't give up, but there is nowhere to do laundry. ridiculous!
“It’s the businesses that make a neighborhood a neighborhood that are closing,” said Greg Jackson, president of Mr. Bennett’s block association. “We don’t need any boutiques or fancy bakeries or little cellphone stores. We just don’t need them.”
true dat!
the funny thing is that my neighborhood just gained a much needed second laundromat, which in turn has caused a pricing war with the existing laudromat. oh yeah! 1 quarter used to get me 8 minutes of drying, but now i get 10 minutes. life is good!
“It’s the businesses that make a neighborhood a neighborhood that are closing,” said Greg Jackson, president of Mr. Bennett’s block association. “We don’t need any boutiques or fancy bakeries or little cellphone stores. We just don’t need them.”
true dat!
the funny thing is that my neighborhood just gained a much needed second laundromat, which in turn has caused a pricing war with the existing laudromat. oh yeah! 1 quarter used to get me 8 minutes of drying, but now i get 10 minutes. life is good!
posted by hazeldove at 1:50 PM
2 Comments:
Amen hazeldove...
I'm with you on this and it's just one more reason why I love the city and it's diversity.
Converesely, here's the flipside in the suburbs (and the side that I'm supposed to advocate at work). (It's just one more reason why I need to get the f* out ...):
Here in our tiny little suburb, we have a finite amount of retail space and retailers generate sales tax and sales tax supports the small local government that operates on a shoestring budget doing frivolous things like paving streets and fixing potholes. We don't have property taxes and so we get buy on all the little things that people purchase in town that contribute to the sales tax base.
We've been facing a small crisis as our retail spaces are being populated by "service businesses" similar to your beloved laundromat. Every time a new service opens, a retailer is shut out. Laundromats, banks (and everyday there are more banks), dry cleaners - all those things that it takes to support a community - are generally discouraged because they don't do anything to support the Village coffers.
Without retailers contributing to our sales tax base - we're going to have to look at instituting a property tax. In an interesting twist - in your case the very rising property tax actually causes the displacement of the service industries and brings in more retailers. Interesting quandary, no?
quite a quandary, my friend! interesting to see, once more the huge differences between the city and the suburbs. also, the biggest culprit that is ruining both are banks. i hate banks. why so many banks? oh, to offer people crazy interest loans to buy a house which they cannot pay for in the end? blech!
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