We have an update today on the fire that broke last week at Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, one of the Lower East Side’s oldest businesses. The storefront, at 72 Hester Street, has remained closed since the fire erupted, apparently in the basement space Tuesday, April 10th.
A short time ago, co-owner Alice Goldberg Wildes told us the plan is to move into a temporary location elsewhere in the neighborhood in about two weeks. She declined to discuss the extent of the damage to the building and the store’s very valuable merchandise until after talks are completed with Mendel Goldberg’s insurance company. Wildes said they are continuing to serve customers even though the retail portion of the business is closed.
Last year, the New York Times paid tribute to Mendel Goldberg, “a last of its kind store” founded in 1890. “In the basement,” the story noted, “off-season and overstock fabrics are stored beside unsold fabrics from as far back as the 1950s.”
Following the fire, tenants living above the store scrambled to find accommodations elsewhere. We’re told some of them remain displaced.
same old story in the lower east side/chinatown. when a building catches on “fire” from some reason (most times suspicious), it gets torn down, the owner gets paid up the wazoo in insurance, and a new piece of diarrhea is built in its place.