Wall Street Journal

Corinne Ramey at Wall Street Journal on the decrease in laundromats in NYC

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Image courtesy of WSJ article
Image courtesy of WSJ article

Laundromats Shrink From Parts of NYC
Do-it-yourself service becoming scarce in higher-rent areas such as the Upper West Side
Corinne Ramey | Wall Street Journal

Self-service laundromats appear to be a vanishing amenity in some New York City neighborhoods even as their numbers overall in the city have slightly increased.

In neighborhoods like the Upper West Side, where retail rents are higher compared with much of the city and many newer apartments have in-building laundries, residents say laundromats are becoming scarce.

On a recent Sunday, neighbors mourned the final day of operation of Laundry Room Plus on Columbus Avenue between West 85th and 86th streets.

“This was like the perfect laundromat, darn,” said Charles Addison,44 years old. The next laundromat “is a long walk from here.”

Jaylieen Camacho, 13, sat waiting with her mom. “I’m sad because we’re probably going to have to drive and that’s a lot of work,” she said.

In an attempt to save Laundry Room Plus, a handful of Upper West Side residents circulated a petition and brought the issue to the attention of local officials. “It’s really, really distressing for the community as a whole,” said Mimi Timell, 56, a laundromat regular, who tried to keep the business from closing. “A lot of people don’t really realize the magnitude of it.”

 

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Josh Dawsey at Wall Street Journal and the City’s fine reduction

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Image courtesy of WSJ article.
Image courtesy of WSJ article.

Fines on Small Businesses Drop Sharply
Josh Dawsey | Wall Street Journal

New York City slashed the total amount of fines to small businesses by more than half in fiscal 2015, focusing on warnings instead and addressing a long-standing complaint that it had taken a too-strict approach in the enforcement of consumer laws.

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the city wrote $15.7 million in fines, down from $32.5 million a year earlier. The city issued 11,923 violations in fiscal 2015, compared with 19,409 the previous year, according to city data.

As a candidate, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city should be more lenient in writing fines because it had been too aggressive in raising revenue off small businesses—particularly in outer boroughs—for what he characterized as trivial violations.

“If a bodega was selling peaches, and they didn’t have individual pricing on every single can, they were fined per can for a very large multitude of cans,” said Julie Menin, the Department of Consumer Affairs commissioner. “We’re trying to distinguish where there is consumer harm and where there isn’t. There were onerous fines for very minor infractions.”

Ms. Menin said the city, under Mr. de Blasio, has written more fines for violations such as selling cigarettes to minors and expired medicine.

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