Checking in with… Echelon Cycles in the West Village

We recently visited Echelon Cycles to get a close look at their brand new sign.

As a follow-up to our recent visit to our friends at Doodle Doo’s, we decided to take stroll down Greenwich Avenue for another check-in with one of Besen Retail’s recent alums, Echelon Cycles. Located at the corner of 8th Avenue and Horatio Street, this West Village cycle shop offers a healthy selection of  bicycles of all different kinds of makes and models, and will definitely prove to be invaluable to cyclists all over the city.

Where in the world is Evan Silver?

He’s here, he’s there.  It seems he’s everywhere!  In the street, on a plane, in a train.  Ace Retail Specialist Evan Silver is a whirlwind of retail activity.  Last week, before jetting off to sunny Baltimore, we found Evan at 719 West 181^st Street in Washington Heights.  This week, we caught up to Evan in Jamaica, Queens at the Grand Opening Celebration of MODA, Queen’s newest and most exciting place to live and open a store or restaurant!

The highlights:

• 25,000 SF of Retail Space Available with Garden Space
• 9,600 SF of Second Floor Space Available with Outdoor Terraces
• Brand New Construction
• MODA Gourmet Supermarket Under Construction in the Building
• 171’ of Frontage on Parsons Boulevard
• 372’ of Frontage on 89^th Avenue
• E, F, J and Z Subways, LIRR and MTA Bus Lines in Vicinity
• Indoor Parking
• Neighbors include Home Depot, Old Navy, Walgreens and Applebee’s
• Located Right in the Heart of Downtown Jamaica

This is the spot for your next store or restaurant.  Call Evan, he’ll tell you all about it.  Click on www.modaupgradedliving.com/about_moda/retail_commercial.html for more info.

You’ll have to take our word for it – that is Evan in the photo.  Like we said, he’s always on the move.  Just as we snapped this photo, he turned and was gone, off to his next exotic locale!  Where is Evan going next?  Stay tuned as our search continues.

-Matt

Besen Retail’s Photo of the Week!

From left: Senior Retail Specialist Elliott Dweck, Dermot's Rajive Maret, Executive Director Matt Mager, and Retail Specialist Evan Silver at Moda

This week’s entry was taken atop the roof of Moda Modern Living at the celebration for its grand opening on June 24th.  The party was hosted by our good friends at The Dermot Company who spared no expense at making the event unique and memorable.

-Jerry

Looking to open a fresh produce market in Upper Manhattan? Have we got the place for you…

As you may have read in our previous post, leasing at one of Besen Retail’s featured listings, Tapestry at 245 East 124th Street is underway.  Situated at the corner of 124th Street and 2nd Avenue in East Harlem (just a block away from the 125th Street Subway Station), this new construction boasts a prime corner location,with 19 foot ceilings in approximately 8,500 square feet of space. We’re always willing to meet with retailers of all shapes and sizes who are interested in any of our spaces, but with Tapestry, we’d love to see a market open up shop with gourmet food,  fresh produce and baked goods.

If you’re interested, or know someone who is interested, give me a call at 646-472-8742 or send me an email at jdweck@besenretail.com.

-Jerry

Tapestry 245 East 124th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan

Checking in with… Doodle Doo’s on Christopher Street

Doodle Doo's at 11 Christopher Street in the West Village

Yesterday I took take a trip into the West Village to see how our friends at  Doodle Doo’s were doing at their newest location in the West Village. As you may have read in our initial post, the famed one-stop-shop children’s hair salon, gift boutique, and birthday party location had moved on up from their former digs at Hudson Street to a much more roomier space at 11 Christopher Street off of Greenwich Avenue. Owner and operator Dana Rywelski was kind enough to invite me into the store to see just how much they’ve grown over the past few months, and I have to say that the place looks phenomenal. My inner child was going wild after seeing the walls covered with all different kinds of toys and games. All of us at Besen Retail wish Doodle Doo’s the best of luck, and we’ll be sure to check in with them again soon.

Get your hair cut while sitting in a car!

Toys!

Doodle Doo’s Store Front at 11 Christopher Street

More Toys!

Tapestry in East Harlem

"Weaving In & Out" courtesy of No Longer Empty

This week, Senior Retail Specialist Elliott Dweck and I took the 6 train uptown to 125th Street to show one of Besen Retail’s premier exclusives, Tapestry in East Harlem.

Fresh off of a brand new construction, Tapestry clocks in at approximately 8,500 square feet of divisible retail space for lease, and boasts 19 foot ceilings and indoor parking. The space is currently on the market, but at same time is being occupied by  No Longer Empty, a non-profit organization that arranges public art exhibits inside temporarily vacated retail locations. After showing the space we took some time to admire the beautiful pieces of artwork on display. Here are a some pictures of our favorites. If you like what you see, take a trip down to Tapestry on 124^th Street and 2^nd Avenue to see the entire exhibit before its gone!

Exhibit Hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays from 12PM- 7PM

How to Fit a Bike Shop in a Mere 200 Square Foot Space

I recently took a trip into Brooklyn with Senior Retail Specialist Elliott Dweck to show  retail  space at 552 and 537 Flatbush Avenue, and we decided to visit Bike Life, a newly opened bicycle shop at 50 Lincoln Road leased by Besen Retail.  With an area of approximately 200 square feet, this is the kind of space that would be referred to as “cozy” by a real estate agent. That didn’t stop the owners from setting up a full fledged bike shop to service cyclists all over Prospect Park. It looks great, and they are off to a great start.  We wish them continued success. Father’s Day is this Sunday – go on in and get your old man a bike!

-Jerry

Where in the World is Evan Silver?

LA, Miami, NY, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills, London, Baltimore . . .

Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan . . .

It’s hard keeping track of ace Retail Specialist Evan Silver.  Always on the move, never at rest.  Canvassing, showing properties, submitting offers, he’s our own retail Superman!

Each week we will profile one of the many locations he visits.  Before jetting off to Baltimore this weekend, Evan spent the week in Washington Heights at 719 West 181^st Street, a very busy location on the corner of Bennett Avenue and 181^st Street.

The highlights:

• 2600 SF of Retail Space Available
• 1600 SF of Mezzanine Space Available
• 10,000 SF of Second Floor Space Available
• 30’ of Frontage
• 20’ Ceilings
• Full Basement
• Neighbors include Foot Locker, GNC, New York & Co and Coliseum Cinemas
• Additional 635 SF of Retail Space Available at 723 West 181^st Street

Could this be the spot for your next store or restaurant?  Call Evan if you’re interested, and if you can catch him!  Where is he going next?  Stay tuned as the search for Evan continues.

I have to ask . . . Baltimore?

Besen Retail’s Photo of the Week

"If there were three letters to sum up how NYC subway riders feel, they would have to be FML, for obvious reasons." - Evan Silver

Blogging with Besen Retail is proud to introduce its newest feature: Photo of the Week! Every Friday we’ll post the most interesting picture taken by one of our Retail Specialists while out in the field. This week’s entry was a joint effort from Retail Specialists Evan Silver and Mike Seidmon while showing a retail space in the trendy West Village at 201 West 11th Street, neighboring Two Boots Pizza (a favorite around the office).

As you may have heard, the MTA had recently merged the M and the V subway lines due to budget cuts, having the M train take over the V line completely (starting in Queens and oddly enough, ending in… Queens), requiring an update to the  sign at the 14th Street station. “F-V-L” was promptly changed to “F-M-L” while  internet savvy New Yorkers sat back and laughed. For those of you who are still trying to figure out what all the commotion is about, point your browsers in the direction of fmylife.com, and you’ll see why the MTA has been clamoring to rearrange the lettering on their brand new sign.

-Jerry

Talk About Being in the Right Place at the Right Time…

A Mural plastered on a wall in Astoria in support of the Greek National Soccer Team.

Early Thursday morning, Senior Retail Specialist Elliott Dweck was showing a space at 38-01 Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, and for some strange reason, I decided to tag along.  Coincidentally enough, the property showing just so happened to coincide with the second game in the day’s World Cup lineup, Greece vs Nigeria, and we just so happened to be in a neighborhood with one of the highest Greek demographics in New York City (what are the odds!). After showing the roomy space on the corner of 38th Street and Ditmars, we decided to hop into the nearest sports bar/restaurant we could find (trust me, there were a ton to choose from) to catch the second half of the match.

Astoria is a great little neighborhood in Queens with an amazing community of people. There are dozens of different bars and restaurants work checking out, and I’m sure that today’s visit will be the first of many.

Luckily enough, I won’t have to travel too far out of Midtown to find a good crowd of rowdy soccer fans for today’s match-up between United States and Slovenia.

-Jerry