SOHO Market: A hidden gem in the city that regulars rave about
BY NYCKOLE MAREE
The SOHO Market, located at 435
Broadway New York, is a hidden
gem only a few know about.
Regulars are raving about this one-ofa
kind location in selling unique specialty
items like wardrobe must-haves, makeup
products, shaving equipment, and a little
bit of everything for any type of customer
to enjoy.
Dr. Pennskin Shave Company
Eric Penn is the shop owner for Dr.
Pennskin Shave Company, he creates most
of his homemade products along with the
help of his wife Barbra Penn. They sell a variety
of merchandise any buyer would like
to buy for themselves or as a gift. One of
Penn’s bestsellers is his traditional barbershop
shaving equipment including beard
products, like soap, oil, and conditioner. He
has a large collection of razors and brushes
in all sizes to compliment men’s needs to
trim or groom their beards.
Penn’s wife helped expand the shop by
creating scented soap products, coming up
with funny captions for their double-sided
mugs, and their beautifully made artistic
candles, like their popular torso body
candle that come in different body types
and skin colors. All of Penn’s products
like the soaps are made with natural and
organic ingredients.
“My wife is working on one of the soaps
we sold out yesterday. We do a peppermint
oatmeal honey scrub but with real coffee
grains. We list all of our ingredients, there
are not going to be any surprises and customers
want that,” said Penn.
NOELENOELE
When customers stop by NoeleNoele
shop, they are automatically stepping into
Noele’s world. Each product she is selling
PHOTO COURTESY OF SOHO MARKET
represents who she is as a person in fi nding
inspiration to make a shade or product from
the people around her. Noele feels like she is
changing the world since starting her own
cosmetic brand 10 years ago. Noele wants
her customers to feel unapologetic wearing
her makeup, especially women of color.
“As a woman, we always have to apologize
for what we have. We didn’t make ourselves
so I like to appreciate the feminine
divine. I want so many people to appreciate
there’s,” said Noele.
NoeleNoele’s bestsellers are her lip balms
and lip gloss, but she also sells her own
different colored eyes shadows, lipsticks,
or silk and mink eyelashes. Creating her
own makeup didn’t happen overnight, it
took her three years to perfect her formula.
AMA Designs
Agnes Lee is the shop owner of AMA
Designs, she sells jackets, jewelry, design
patches, purses, and many more. She likes
to pattern mix her jackets and only makes
a few pieces at a time. Lee’s shop is always
changing but her clothing items are well
made and carefully constructed, “It is all
about the fabric, said, Lee.” She promotes a
fashionable luxury feel and sells fun items,
but her merchandise remains affordable.
Customers can wear her clothing up or
down or mix and match several pieces
together. You will not fi nd a boring piece
at AMA Designs. Lee carefully hands pick
ever merchandise in her shop in order for
her products to represent what she likes.
“I only sell what I like, if I don’t like a
purse, I don’t sell it, I have to like it fi rst,”
said Lee.
The secret is out! Come and stop by to
help support these local businesses at The
Soho Market. You will fi nd knowledgeable
marketing experts who are truly passionate
about what they are selling to their customers
at affordable prices.
Manhattan businessman admits to stealing over $6.9M in PPP loans
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A Manhattan man admitted to carrying
out a fraudulent scheme to
obtain $6.9 million in governmentguaranteed
loans that were designed to
provide relief to small businesses during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcus Frazier, 48, pleaded guilty to two
counts of wire fraud affecting a fi nancial
institution. Both counts carry a maximum
sentence of 30 years in prison.
“Marcus Frazier sought millions of dollars
in unsecured SBA-guaranteed loans
for which his businesses did not qualify,”
said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “He
lied about the number of people employed
by his businesses, the salaries they were
paid, even that these employees existed.
Further, Frazier used the loan proceeds
he obtained to fund his lavish lifestyle, not
to pay permissible expenses. Now Marcus
Frazier awaits sentencing for his admitted
crimes.”
On March 29, 2020, the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(“CARES”) Act was enacted by the federal
government to provide emergency fi nancial
assistance to the millions of Americans who
are suffering the economic effects caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic. According
to court documents, between May 2020
and April 2021 Frazier submitted at least
seven applications to the Small Business
Administration for PPP loans for various
businesses he controlled.
In these applications, Frazier had false
statements regarding the number of employees
of each business and the amount
of payroll involved in each business, and
were submitted, in many cases, alongside
fake bank statements, designed to support
Frazier’s claims. Among other things, these
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
fake bank statements included fraudulent
account statements for a checking account
that showed balances far greater than the
account actually held and that depicted
payroll withdrawals that never occurred.
Frazier also submitted lists of employees
on the purported payrolls of his companies,
which included names and Social Security
numbers that do not match the records of
the Social Security Administration, suggesting
that Frazier fabricated the employee
records. On at least one occasion, Frazier
provided documents showing that one of
his companies had been in existence for
approximately 10 years when in actuality
the corporate entity had not been registered
until in or about July 2020, months after
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Frazier sought out a total of over $6.9
million in PPP loans and was awarded at
least approximately $2.17 million that were
spent on personal expenses rather than
business expenses. Between on or about
June 18, 2020, shortly after his fi rst PPP
loan was funded, and on or about April
7, 2021, Frazier used the loans to pay for
$124,982 on hotels, including more than
approximately $88,791 at a luxury hotel
located in Miami, Florida, approximately
$63,000 on restaurants and food service,
$17,000 on transportation using the ridehailing
app Uber, $16,519 on airline travel,
and $11,000 on clothing. Frazier also collected
$21,000 in unemployment benefi ts.
Additionally, between in or about January
2018 and in or about November 2019,
Frazier engaged in a scheme to obtain personal
loans from fi nancial institutions and
in an effort to evade paying credit card debt
by making false representations and sending
fake documents to lenders and banks.
Frazier is scheduled to be sentenced by
Judge Nathan on March 1, 2022, at 3 p.m.
18 OOccttoobbeerr 2288,, 22002211 SScchhnneeppss Meeddiiaa