New Rochelle Losing Another Great Business

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

Another great store was lost in New Rochelle’s downtown. The Family Bargin Shop Located at 236 North avenue for over 50 years closed it’s doors last week.IMG 4215
The owner Mike told me that there was just not enough business to keep the doors open any longer. There is no more walking traffic on the sidewalks and most people only come in for change for the meters or bus.
This shop was in his family for over 50 years his father was killed in the store many years ago after a robbery there and the suspects were never caught.
It’s a sad day for New Rochelle when these small stores start to close there doors.IMG 4217
Mike and his staff will be missed be many people in this City. Good luck my friend.

38 thoughts on “New Rochelle Losing Another Great Business”

  1. A new record!
    This may be the dumbest comment thread on a Talk of the Sound article ever. Are people really that worked up about proving that the Family Bargain Story was or was not operating in New Rochelle for 50 years?

    The City Council just agreed to borrow $25 million to pay for building a new DPW yard on Beechwood despite having no clear idea on how much it will cost to acquire the additional property they decided on the spur of the moment to buy, how much it will cost to remediate all the toxic chemicals leached into the soil at the site, how much it will cost to relocate the leaf transfer site at the Beechwood site or where that new site might be and not having an actual design despite 6 months of work being paid for out of a previously approved $600,000 bond for that purpose.

    The debt servicing cost will be $1.7 million a year for the next 20 years, effectively a permanent increase in property taxes of 3% on top of whatever other increases come along in a City that is already projecting a massive hole in its budget out over the next several years.

    Last year, for the first time, the City was paying out more in pension and medical costs to retired workers than to active employees and borrowed over $1 mm from New York State to cover those costs.

    The total amount of debt outstanding by the City will now, for the first ever, exceed the operating budget of the City government.

    This is the road to municipal bankruptcy and this DPW bonding nothing more than a “Hail Mary” pass deep into the 4th quarter.

    And yet we have a group of people devoting their attention to a completely trivial matter. I guess that it is easier than dealing with reality.

    1. You’re absolutely right…
      I just submitted my last word on the subject. If the posters want to rewrite history, they can. No matter, the old New Rochelle doesn’t matter to anyone anymore anyway.

      Case in point……rather than keep the Armory and rebuild downtown New Rochelle, which now is a hodgepodge of misremembered memories (do you get why it’s NOT such a trivial thread?), City Hall is doing their three card monty shuffle and moving the attention of the naive New Rochelle citizens to a City Yard that does NOT need to be moved.

      Isn’t their strategy brilliant? See how easy it is to distract the poor sods who think this store has been there for 50 years? Exactly.

      Long live Idoni II and his contracts from the New City Yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. NewrochelleUSED memory not what is use to be
      Dear Bob, True there are guns on school buses and due process being thrown out the window, let alone moving the city yard for millions of dollars and the cat on division street that is stuck in a tree
      BUT this fellow who has been USED and abused “newrochelleUSED” was the first to comment on this article pointing out that the reporter for the story was to get his facts straight before posting. So what it actually comes down to, are there facts or fiction when it comes to the blog. ( yes i also met a french model online) as did newrochelleused.
      It is he “newrochelleused” that wont step up to the plate and allow others to see his memory is not what it once was.But we all know that type, his word is the word of g-d and wont budge. According to him eyeonnewroc turned 30 years into 50.
      So my dear old friend Newrochelleused, perhaps you do some research before you make a comment (open your mouth) so that others don’t frown on you. Do we rely on your memory (used) or facts.

      1. speak his language
        Listen you whippersnappers, you don’t know anything. There’s always time for trivial matters like city politicians destroying and bankrupting NR. Sure, I took the time to check into your North Ave Page Co. reference on the sign. Assuming it’s an actual pic, and not some trick photography, I looked further. This is from the Westchester County Clerk’s office:

        Details For NORTH AVE PAGE CO File No # 76054
        File Date : 1962/12/24
        Address : 234 NORTH AVE, NEW ROCHELLE, NY

        My next letter is to the County Clerk’s office to inform them of their error. They obviously don’t check their records against Manta. There’s also the possibility that the Y2K fiasco changed 1982 into 1962. If we were to go out on a limb, and assume Manta was wrong and the Clerk’s office was right, that only establishes the timeline for the North Ave Page Co. A company that dealt with pagers 50 years ago is suspect in my mind. Pagers weren’t commercially used until the ’70s. My doctor had one of those in 1983. Who’s to say Family Bargain didn’t come along 30 years ago and slap their sign over the very humble sign belonging to North Ave Page Co.? We need to get to the bottom of this. The 50 years IS important. We don’t care about businesses less than 50 years old.

    3. The Hits keep on coming
      Sorry Bob i posted this story to let people know what is going on i know your a busy guy. I posted facts because i live in the area where this store was and yes it was there over 50 years so maybe the story you tell should be about the facts.I’m sorry if you think its dumb to prove facts but the fact is this store was there 50 plus years FACT

    4. Moving the city yard is a
      Moving the city yard is a waste. First, the Forest City project will NOT generate one cent of revenue for the City for many years to come. That is, if it ever produces any meaningful revenue. If history repeats itself, Echo Bay will be another failed development scheme just like Avalon. In 20 years all this City managedto do is hike taxes and cut services.

      Secondly, if the City maintained the city yard over the years we wouldn’t be in this boat. Their neglect of the city yard created the circumstances so the outcome they desired could be achieved.

  2. NewrochelleUSED – Do you have a life?
    For someone that moved out of New Rochelle to spend such an inordinate amount of time on a New Rochelle website, bashing and trashing everything, is not normal. Is your current place of residence so awful that you’d rather spend all day as a troll in your apartment than walk around outside? The negativity that comes from you constantly, your skewed view on everything makes me think you either failed in your business in New Rochelle and/or failed in life in general and are trying to blame it somehow on New Rochelle. Did you own a business that failed in New Rochelle?

    1. Tom Jeferstahl, are you an employee in City Hall?
      Yeah, thought so.

      So no negative comments about the sewer that is New Rochelle are allowed, eh? You so funny.

      1. I’m in Marketing, work in Manhattan
        Never a city employee or civil service employee. I’ve always been in private employment. You are certainly “allowed” to post negative comments but you must realize that a a certain point it becomes useless to complain without offering any ideas of your own and it will either effect you negatively or it may be a symptom of something wrong with you already. So i ask again. did you fail in business in New Rochelle?

  3. More of the same
    Too bad this business could not sustain. Not a surprise though. As Yonkers announces the re-development of the old Glenwood power station into a convention center and hotel, we announce another tax increase. Development? Not happening in this town, ever. The Armory? Whatever the city decides it will turn into a disaster. Who ever thought that we would look to Yonkers as the beacon on meaningful development. After all, we have New Roc and they only have Ridge Hill. What a joke this town has turned into. Once again, sad to see this business close after being here for 50 plus years.

  4. Cross Section of NR
    I liked to stop in there and hang out during the day when I was in the area. I will miss that too. There was constant traffic in and out of the store — mostly for the lotto tickets. The customers represented a real cross-section of New Rochelle from the good, the bad to the ugly. Mike and Tony welcomed them all. I will miss Mike and Tony.

    Best of luck to both of you.

    1. Move on…. change will happen, make it good.
      Schrafft’s and Bloomingdales were great businesses. I have been to both in New Rochelle. I am a business owner – times and demographics change. I have changed, my business has changed, it’s called survival.

      Thank you for your business, good luck on your next venture.

      Bob Cox: You too are becoming too predictable and stale, you too should move on. I hope you become effective with your next venture.

      Gym
      New Ro – 48 year resident

    2. Good luck
      I stopped in there almost every day after getting off the train. A drink, a scratch off or lottery ticket. The nicest people in the world. Sad to see them go.

  5. useless comment
    NR Used, what an asinine comment. I believe the store will be missed. Probably more than the two you mentioned. I would stop in there over the years and get entertained while I bought things I couldn’t find anywhere else. I don’t blame him for going out. Thank God New Rochelle was able to chip away at him a little more with the garbage decal. That should pay for about a minute of the lifetime healthcare the city council enjoys. So, as the owner moves on, the current and former city council can be happy their lifetime, I repeat, LIFETIME health benefits are secure. At least Bramson’s favorite tailor is still open in Larchmont. I think the demographic in Larchmont is a little different than the one Bramson and his fellow Democrats claim to love. Unlike Family Bargain, I don’t think Mayor Bramson is haggling with Mr. Mancino in Larchmont over a $2 pair of gloves. If only the Democrats tripled taxes, fees, and parking fines, Family Bargain could have been saved and the NR economy would be thriving.

    1. More than IB Cohen?????
      Miss this dollar store all you like, but it had nothing whatever to do with John’s Bargain Store, so the headline claiming it had been there 50 years is not a fact, now is it?

      You miss the point – this dollar store was just part of the sewer’s landscape before the others.

      Neither you nor anyone else in New Rochelle is going to restore New Rochelle to its former glory.

      I feel badly for anyone who truly misses a dollar store over IB Cohen when that great landmark finally gives up the ghost. But hey, to each his own.

      1. FOR RENT
        The IB COHEN that you so adore, will be closing there doors Jan 01 2013 as did Family Bargain Shop they also see no point to continue within New Rochelle.

        Thank you New Rochelle City Council, and New Rochelle BID, great job Ralph Dibart and Mark Jerome for bringing the downtown to its knees by doing nothing. At least Mark will have the chance to pick from the many store fronts to use for Monroe college. 5 Anderson St. new dorms perhaps, corner building on Lecount and Main st. The New Monroe Hospitality/Hotel and Cooking school.

        And for G-D sakes, Jared Rice aren’t you vested yet ( health benefits for life) as a city council member so you can finally open your mouth and show you care about the downtown and speak up, enough already of having the mayor pull your strings and thoughts. Show us that you do care about the Downtown the few bags of chips and sodas you purchase at your local deli help, but even that local deli is hanging on by a thread.

        So the 2013 landscape of store fronts for New Rochelle will be FOR RENT, FOR RENT, FOR RENT, I don’t have the answers I’m not making the big bucks (Health Benefits FOR LIFE) to decide what’s best. But those in charge need to step up and show us you care, speak your mind not the mayors mind YOURS

  6. Wait………
    you’re not trying to say that this place still bore ANY resemblance to John’s Bargain Store from the 1950s, ARE YOU??? When John’s Bargain Store and Enterprise were only a few of the places (were there others, I don’t remember) to carry cheap goods as an anomaly in a City Of Grandeur.

    Please tell me that is not what you are trying to do?

    That is like comparing New Rochelle, Queen City of the the Sound in the 1950s, to the sewer that New Rochelle is today.

    IIRC, there are two and only two stores remaining from the Golden Days Of New Rochelle – IB Cohen and Talner, and I think Talner is the pup of the two.

    This place was a junk store, that is all. It won’t be missed.

    1. I am sure you’re glad.
      You seem to be celebrating the demise of a business.
      I don’t often comment, but do notice that you do quite a bit.

      Always negative, always snooty.

    2. Liebmans
      Liebmans has been on the same corner for many decades, at least since the early 1950’s and probably a lot longer than that.

      1. You are correct, Brian…
        I keep forgetting about poor little Liebman’s.

        But three incredibly brave stalwarts does not a Queen City make.

        If only there were a log (I bet City Hall has one) of the stores that have succumbed to the politics of New Rochelle, it would boggle the mind.

        In recognition of the Valiant Three (are there any others? Keep in mind, they must have been in business in New Rochelle since the real 1950s, not the 1980 1950s):

        Since 1927 New Rochelle children have been walking through the doors of 510 Main Street (Liebman’s) to buy their seasonal wardrobes.

        Since 1927 Talner Jewelers has been fulfilling the needs and desires of lower Westchester’s discriminating jewelry, giftware and tableware buyers.

        I.B. Cohen’s is located at 525 Main St. in downtown New Rochelle. A family run clothing store established in 1890, it is one of the oldest businesses in the area.

      2. Other Stores
        Another store is Suttons Flowers. That’s been here since at least the 1950’s, although the Suttons no longer own it.

        Probably, there are several bars at least. But they might have moved a block or two along the way.

        There are certainly some restaurants. Modern Pizza & Restaurant is still at the same location its been at for a very long time. However, very soon it will be moving to Huguenot between Division & Centre.

        I’m sure, beyond downtown, there are other New Rochelle stores that go back at least to the 1950’s.

        There are several things that killed downtown New Rochelle in the late 1950’s and through the 1960’s.

        Opening the NE Thruway in 1958, bypassed NR, whereas previously all traffic was on US Rt 1 aka Main & Huguenot.

        In the early 1960’s, the City of NR foolishly destroyed Mechanic St (now Memorial Hwy, which was renamed that in memory of NR’s former commerce). Mechanic St was a physical & commercial twin of Division. Worse yet, City Hall moved from the corner of Mechanic & Main to its current location. City Hall had been a major draw for downtown commerce. One third of the old City Hall remains in the now-defunct Almarc.

        When ‘The Mall’ opened in 1968, it emptied Main St & North Ave of many shoe stores & other businesses that moved into that new building, leaving their old sites vacant.

        Downtown NR has never recovered from those events. City-planned ‘development’ aka destructive-folly, is what has been killing downtown NR in every decade from the 1950’s through the present.

        The current tragedy is the plans to move City Yard to close to the center of downtown NR. If our City government had any sense at all, they wouldn’t even be considering it. Such so-called ‘development’ always seems to be done to help special interests in real estate and construction, and always ends up further damaging downtown NR commerce.

      3. All true, Brian…
        “Downtown NR has never recovered from those events. City-planned ‘development’ aka destructive-folly, is what has been killing downtown NR in every decade from the 1950’s through the present.”

        So true. Don’t forget whichever mayor was paid off NOT to approve Lord and Taylor.

        And now, today, most laughable is the City Yard move. As so many here have said, leave it where it is.

        But then, Idoni II will shortly be moving on to his reward in White Plains, and needs all the contracts obtained from this boondoggle to ensure he has enough money for three lifetimes.

        And, it WILL be approved, citizens of New Rochelle be damned.

        And, what are the citizens of New Rochelle going to DO about it? They did nothing about all the destruction of the Queen City of the Sound you so accurately detailed, why bother to wake up now?

    3. Website’s Technical Errors
      I posted one message about Liebman’s but it showed up twice. So I replaced the second message with this.

      I see other signs of technical errors from this Website’s code. It probably has nothing to do with anything Bob Cox or anyone else is doing, but no doubt has to do with problems with the web provider. I presume others have had the same experience. I hope the programming errors are fixed soon.

      1. bug displayed in code
        Brian,

        If you are referring to the red warning messages that have been showing up for the past couple of months, that is due to some small error code error in one of the Drupal modules. It has nothing to do with me, you or the server.

        It is annoying but I have been ignoring it because I am working towards upgrading from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 (and will do that once there are certain modules that I use that get completed by the maintainers for those modules) and having someone debug that code is not worth the effort (and money). My hosting provider offered to take a look earlier today so perhaps it will get resolved.

        I regret the annoyance of those red warning messages.

        In any case, that has nothing to do with duplicate entries of comments. That is typically more because there is a delay in the comment getting into the database that stores all the comments. When there is a delay it can be like a stutter that leads to a dupe comment. I try to clean those up for folks as I see them.

      2. Thank you Bob
        Thank you Bob.

        Just wanted to make sure you were aware of the redundant posting, and the other red warnings that you have referred to.

        Such things do not detract from the content, but could indicate other, unseen, errors.

        Sorry if I appear to be nit-picking, and was just trying to be helpful. I know you realize that, Bob.

    4. New ro used
      John bargin store went out a long time ago because it could not hang on anymore. Family bargin stayed on for years it was not a junk store it was a family business.It will be missed maybe not by you but to alot of New Rochelle people.John’s bargin store took up and left this store stayed around for years.

      1. And you miss my point…
        has this store been there for FIFTY years? NO, didn’t think so.

        So, for those of you familiar with this place, I am sure it will be missed. But do tell, exactly how long was it in this space?

        Oh, and BTW: John’s Bargain Store ‘took up and left’? It was there for my entire childhood and young adulthood. You obviously are NOT an old time New Rochelleian.

        Ohhhhhhhhhhh, never mind, a simple Google search (see below) answered my question. 50 years? Try THIRTY, which interestingly is EXACTLY the point at which New Rochelle began to slide into the porcelain receptable and become the sewer it is today thanks to the politicians in City Hall.

        http://www.manta.com/c/mmczwm9/family-bargain-shop

        “More Details for Family Bargain ShopFamily Bargain Shop in New Rochelle, NY is a private company categorized under Variety Stores. Our records show it was established in 1982 and incorporated in New York.”

        EyeOnNewRoc, do your homework next time. True, 30 years SEEMS like 50 years to you young pups, but those of us still living who know what the politicians of the last 30 years have done to New Rochelle KNOW what the Queen City of the Sound was like FIFTY years ago, and again, John’s Bargain Store did NOT JUST TAKE UP AND LEAVE without just cause, it was driven out.

      2. Warren,
        I’m sorry you couldn’t take the heat and decided to leave the kitchen.

        The history of New Rochelle is now being rewritten, see this article, and there aren’t many of us left alive who aren’t afraid to tell the truth.

        Soon there will be no one around except those who will say Idoni I and Idoni II were good mayors.

      3. GooGle Deeper my friend just a little deeper
        The article states it was a family owned busness, Mike being the son of the original owner his dad who was brutaly murdered in the shop in 1982. Thus your research is not complete. The question reamains then how long did his dad have the busness.

        Do your homework my friend, get the facts straight on how long the shop was there. Hint established 1961

      4. So then, how long did his dad have the business?
        “The Family Bargain Shop Located at 236 North avenue for over 50 years closed it’s doors last week.”

        By all means, post the link to show that the Family Bargain Shop has been there since 1961.

      5. Family Bargain Shop aka NORTH AVE PAGE CO. ?
        Another hint on when the shop was estabished: look at the “sign” on the building NORTH AVE PAGE CO. you claim your an old timer who remembers everything about NewRo. Shall we say some things not all things you are old after all,the shop has been there 51 years.

        Learn how to google and good luck my friend

      6. Yes, the building was there 50+ years…So?
        The business was not.

        Many businesses have come and gone in buildings that have been on Main Street since the beginning of the 20th century.

        What is your point?

      7. The Facts
        NrUsed-you have no idea what your talking about i’ve lived next door to this business all my life I’m 46 years old my brothers are 48 and 50 my parents would have been 52 years married this Feb. The family bargin shop was always there. You can google all you want my homework is done maybe you should do your’s maybe a old man like you is losing it.Please get your FACTS rite before commenting again.

      8. manta
        Sorry EyeOnNewRoc,

        Manta cannot be wrong. I believe the IRS, FBI, and all other government agencies rely on this trusted source. It even lists the number of employees and annual revenues. I believe the IRS chooses their audits by comparing IRS records to Manta records.

      9. Manta records doesn’t show
        Manta records doesn’t show the sale from father to son. Sure Manta cannot be wrong, but it doesn’t show who owned it before

      10. Manta cannot be wrong?
        From all I can see about Manta is that they are a sort of LinkedIN social network for small businesses. They have free and paid company profiles. It appears they have been building profiles since 2005 from public sources but the idea behind their business model is that members will “claim” their profile and add their own information and pay a fee for a paid listing that bumps them up in the Manta search engine.

        I have not the faintest idea why anyone would claim “Manta cannot be wrong” and I have no idea about this idea of “audits” and “IRS audits”.

        The BBB says “Manta information consists of personally identifiable information collected or received about you when you make purchases from them, when you register with them, when you set up profiles to share with others, when you interact with other users on Manta, or when you log in to Manta as a registered user and interact with Manta products and services.”

        From what I can see they have a great deal of outdated or incomplete information — in some cases the information is inaccurate.

      11. eyeonnewroc,
        I have no idea why you are so intent on proving that this business has been in New Rochelle for 50 years, when it has not, but okay, if it makes you feel any better, here’s my final word on the subject:

        Okey dokey, this dollar store has been in New Rochelle for fifty years and John’s Bargain Store never existed at all.

        Oh, and I won’t miss this dollar store.

        There, feel better now?

        Good.

  7. Thank you
    Thanks Mike,
    You have always catered to the working class community of New Rochelle. Thank you and god bless.

    Martin Sanchez

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