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No Reprieve in Sight for Ray's Candy Store
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 18, 2010
Modified Jan 18, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 18, 2010
Modified Jan 18, 2010
Share
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The NY Times is the latest media outlet to chime in on the dire fate looming over Ray’s Candy Store, the 24-hour burger/fries/shake hole-in-the-wall that's been in operation on Avenue A since 1974. Though there's not much new here for those who have been following the sad plight of 76-year-old owner Ray Alvarez—in 2000, the building's owner raised Ray's rent from $800 a month to $3,500, and is now threatening to evict him because he's two months behind—there are some sad quotes. "If they terminate this store, my life will be terminated, too," Alvarez tells the Times. "I like to be around people, and if I can’t be here it’s going to be sad, depressing." And one longtime regular who routinely holds court at Ray's observes that the store is one of the last remaining relics of Alphabet City's gritty past: "When there was nothing else around, Ray was around."
Tagged
closing
east village
ray's candy store
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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