Harlem record store faces un-happy ending
August 21, 2007 12:00AM
Bobby's Happy House, a Harlem record store open 1946, could be claimed by the neighborhood's escalating property values. As reported by The Real Deal, Kimco Realty Corporation and the Sigfield Group bought the building, located at 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard,that houses 90-year-old Bobby Robinson's shop and gave him until the end of the month to get out. After neighbors rallied, Robinson got until early next year and the owners agreed to help pay for his move, but where he could afford to re-open remains unclear. Robinson, a former label owner who produced Bobby Lewis' "Tossin' and Turnin'" and the Shirelles' "Dedicated to the One I Love," pays $2,850 a month for about 1,200 square feet, or about $28.50 per square foot per year, well below market value.more [NYT]
The Real Deal reserves the right to delete any comment it finds to be rude, obscene, racist, sexist, bigoted, irrelevant or repetitive, as well as inappropriate comments about anyone's personal appearance. The Real Deal does not endorse any comments posted on its Web site nor does it verify the veracity of comments or the identity of posters.
Comments