NYU officials and an East Village grocer are working to settle a bitter rent dispute that’s threatening the existence of one of the last affordable food stores in the neighborhood.
Negotiations between NYU and the Met Foodmarket – which occupies the ground floor of a university-owned building at 107 Second Ave. – came to an abrupt end earlier this month when the store was offered a three-year lease at triple the current rent, said owner Michael Schumacher.
“It was outrageous,” he said. “We couldn’t operate at even double the rent. We’d have to close.”
That would leave local residents – including budget-minded NYU students and the cash-strapped elderly – out of luck.
City Councilwoman Rosie Menendez is mediating the dispute and yesterday, at a meeting in her First Avenue office, the two sides edged toward an agreement, Schumacher said.
“We had a very constructive meeting. Based on our conversation, they seem to want to sustain local businesses. I’m hopeful,” he said.
Alicia Hurley, the NYU vice president for government and community affairs, said, “We’re hopeful, as well. It is certainly our intention to keep him in the space.”