SoHo, Greenwich Village businesses
dealing with fallout from city-wide looting
Urban Outfitters on 14 Street and 6th Avenue after a night of looting.
BY JOE PANTORNO
In the week since George Floyd was
murdered by Minneapolis police offi cer
Derek Chauvin, protests speaking out
against police brutality and for the equality
of black Americans have swept through
the United States — particularly, New York
City.
While protests have remained largely
peaceful, there have been fl are-ups of
rioting and looting across the city where
SoHo and Greenwich Village have not been
spared, but it could have been much worse,
according to Andrés Pazmino, President of
the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber
of Commerce, which also serves Chelsea,
PHOTO: TEQUILA MINSKY/AMNY
Union Square, Flatiron, and NoHo.
Riots and widespread looting gripped
the area beginning over the weekend,
with looters targetting the area between
Broadway to Sixth Avenue.
Notable businesses such as Bloomingdales,
Chanel, Gucci, Apple, Coach, Supreme,
Rolex, and Louis Vuitton were among the
stores damaged on Monday night.
“On Bleeker Street particularly when
you move from 7th avenue to 8th, about
every store has been boarded up. And if you
notice within that area, you notice them are
high-end stores,” Pazmino said. “On the
other side of Bleecker, when you go from
7th to Broadway, a few stores are boarded
up but the type of businesses are different
— not high-end, hospitality, mom-and-pop
shops. We’ve seen some graffi ti sporadically…
a few damages here and there along
5th Avenue, but as far as I know, there
hasn’t been any big, big damages.”
“SoHo has been largely boarded up,” he
added. “Places along 2nd Avenue — restaurants
— have had their windows smashed.”
As for a specifi c number in damages over
the last few nights, Pazmino and the GVC
Chamber of Commerce are still assessing
the numbers.
The events provide added frustration for
businesses looking to get back to normal
after being affected by the coronavirus
outbreak.
“As we are entering the next phase of the
re-opening, now some people are holding
off and they don’t know when this will
stop,” Pazmino said. “They’re watching
and seeing when they can re-open.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
responded by instituting an 8 p.m. curfew
through Sunday to curtail such actions.
Early returns suggest they are working as
rioting and looting has dropped in the area.
While GVC begins sifting through the
damage and putting together logistics on
how to help businesses affected, Pazmino
vows that help is on the way.
“That’s the mission of the chamber:
Not just to help out businesses in crisis,
but during normal times,” Pazmino said.
“We’re working on a few things to help the
community.”
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
A resident informs police about looters at the Warehouse Wines and Liquor
store on Broadway in SoHo on May 31, 2020.
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
Police making arrests at 12th and Broadway.
4 June 4, 2020 Schneps Media