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10 Iconic NYC Spots Closed Down in 2015

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Rising rents forced many city iconic institutions to close down in 2015.

It should come as no surprise that in New York businesses often close down, and real estate properties change hands. It is usually caused by exuberating high rental prices. According to The New York Observer, the following ten places which had to be shut down in 2015 will be dearly missed.

Louis Shoe Rebuilders

Louis Shoe Rebuilders, the 94-year-old shoe-repair shop, which was located on the ground floor of the Empire State Building inside the Empire State Building, was forced to close its doors this summer due to increasing rent.

Patricia Field

“Sex and the City” costume designer Patricia Field announced in December 2015 that she is closing her Bowery boutique after 50 years. The decision was not based on finances, but rather the fact that Ms. Field would like to have more free time.

FAO Schwarz

FAO Schwarz, the iconic New York City toy store, closed its doors in July 2015 after nearly 30 years on Fifth Avenue. Similarly, Toys “R” Us announced they were closing the location due to rising rental costs.

Cafe Borgia II

Cafe Borgia II met the same fate as its predecessor, Cafe Borgia, by losing its lease. This bohemian dream, and the second oldest coffee house in the Village, sadly has vanished once again.

Avignone Chemists

Abe Lerner who has owned Avignone Chemists for 30 years at 281 Sixth Ave. had to close the place down after the new owner wanted to triple his rent last January. The pharmacy originally opened in 1832 as the Stock Pharmacy at 59 Macdougal Street, which was later renamed in 1898.

Market Diner

In November 2015, the 1960s-style Market Diner was bought out by the Moinian Group developing company to become a 13-story mixed-use building, according to The Real Deal. After 53 years in business, one of New York’s most essential diners and Frank Sinatra’s favorite is no longer with us.

Hogs & Heifers

The 23-year-old “classic country and southern rock-n-roll dive bar” that encouraged patrons to dance on the bar and nail their bras to a wall closed in August2015 due to increasing rent prices. Owner Michelle Dell told the Daily News that she was not willing to charge $17 for the Pabst beer that she currently charges $3 for.

Tribeca Cinemas

The little independent movie house opened as The Screening Room in 1996, a combination of restaurant and theater, the “dreamwork of two young corporate malcontents in love with the moves,” according to Gael Greene in a 1966 New York magazine. Every Sunday, they showed “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Gotham Chamber Opera

In October 2015 the board of directors at Gotham Chambers voted to close this iconic organization, which for the last 15 years has been showing incredible performances. The company’s executive director, Edward Barnes, “uncovered a significant deficit that was not previously disclosed to the board.”

McKee Gallery

Charlotte Burns reported in the Art Newspaper that the McKee Gallery on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan closed by the end of August 2015 after 41 years in business. David McKee and Renee Conforte McKee opened the gallery in 1971 with a figurative Philip Guston show.

Gene O’Grady

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