By Jessica Mintz
Over the summer, rumors ran rampant through the neighborhood that City Gourmet Deli was being evicted from its space at the corner of Horatio and Washington Sts. When word on the street said the new tenant might be a Starbucks, 1,200 deli patrons signed a petition pleading for the owner of the building, Rockrose Development Corporation, to leave their deli in peace.
Now, residents have heard that the 10-year-old deli has been given five days to vacate their property. Marjorie Colt, who has lived on Horatio St. for 44 years, was outraged when she first heard the news.
“There are many children at 95 Horatio St.,” says Colt. The deli “is used by four of [Rockrose’s] buildings and a lot of people on Horatio St. The only alternative is to go to D’Agostino’s, which is four blocks away, or to Western Beef. Those are the two closest, but if people suddenly need a quart of milk, they run down to the deli. If they need something on the way home from work, they stop at the deli.”
The only other neighborhood alternative, Samba’s deli, says Colt, has a continual cast of unsavory characters — pimps and prostitutes — hanging around outside. City Gourmet, says Colt, is a “nice deli. It’s very clean, very well run. … [It has] higher prices, but that’s what happens when you go to a deli. You do that for the convenience, and the safety at night.”
According to Kenyata Allain, a retail leasing specialist for Rockrose Development Corporation, many of the neighbors’ allegations are untrue, though the end result might not be exactly what residents were hoping for.
“The deli’s lease expired this month, but he knew six months ago that he had to leave,” Allain said. “We tried to negotiate a deal with him, but that fell through.”
Allain said that Rockrose notified deli manager Ashraff Raja last week that he would have to leave, but that there was no five-day eviction notice. “We will give him enough time [to leave],” said Allain. “He made it clear that he purchased inventory for the following month.” Rockrose will allow the deli to remain open through the end of October at least, according to Allain. “Nothing is definite yet,” he said.
What is definite, according to Allain, is that there will be no Starbucks. City Gourmet will be replaced by a deli, “a better deli,” said Allain. “That’s what the community needs.”
But Raja, whose family owns the deli, said he did, in fact, get a five-day eviction notice on Oct. 1 and that they were supposed to vacate the store by last Sunday. However, Raja said Rockrose promised verbally to him and his lawyer that the deli would be getting a five-month lease.
“I think maybe they don’t like me because I’m Muslim,” Raja, who is originally from Afghanistan, said of Rockrose.
He said that after the 9/11 attack, the deli gave free food to police and firefighters and to Chelsea Piers, which served as an emergency distribution center. During the recent blackout, he was open till 2 a.m., using candles and said he gave away “tons of ice cream.”
He said they weren’t planning to vacate by Monday.
“No, I’m not going nowhere,” he said. “I’m here to the death. My people in the Village are behind me.”
Alan Hilowitz, regional spokesman for Starbucks, could neither confirm nor deny any plans to develop a Starbucks in that space. “I can say, ‘No, we’re not at this point,’ but we don’t discuss predevelopments. Anything can happen,” said Hilowitz, “but at this point, no.”
The building in which the deli is located sits just inside the edge of the newly designated Gansvoort Historic District, but according to Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the landmarking will have little effect on what kinds of businesses are permitted to move into the area.
But, says Berman, “Beyond the landmarking issue, we do have concerns about making sure that the really vital and unique mix of businesses that exist in the Gansevoort Market area are preserved. I don’t know what new use will be, [but I] hope it won’t be one that will conflict with the longstanding uses in the neighborhood.”
The society, says Berman, is “interested in preserving the unique character of the neighborhood. While we know that businesses in the neighborhood will continue to evolve, we are working with local merchants, neighbors and preservationists to try to make sure that we preserve a mix of businesses there that reflect the longstanding character of the neighborhood — an incredible mix of meatpacking and other wholesale food-related businesses, along with bars and clubs, restaurants, retail, photo studios — a real 24-hour mix.”
But for some residents, this might just be the last straw. “I think it’s about time to leave,” said Colt. “Things are just getting out of control.”
