Oct. 23, 2010 Staff Report
EZ Pawn, the controversial pawn shop located on the corner of 46th and Queens Blvd, was expected to open today [Monday], according to two workers.
However, the opening has been delayed and David Kaminsky, the owner EZ Pawn Corp, was not immediately available for comment.
20 Comments
I have stopped into this store a few times since its opening, and contrary to popular misconceptions about pawn shops this place is very good. The staff are professional, knowledgeable, and extremely friendly. I had trouble setting my watch and they looked at it, figured it out, and set the time for me at no cost. Their prices are low, even for a pawn shop, and they have some very nice items. Last time I stopped in they said they were having a big “grand opening” on December 1st, where they will be serving food, drinks, etc. to the customers, which will give them a chance to meet the upper management of the company. I know I’m going to stop by, maybe some of you should as well. GIVE EZ PAWN A CHANCE!!
Thank you LLROS. My noodle thanks you too.
Sunny Blew….
I haven’t had to adapt.
This neighborhood is still very much the same as it used to be.
It just has more ignorant individuals with a sense of self entitlement “living” here.
You clearly haven’t been to Skillman Park.
Needless to say, the point of my post has been lost on you and I have no desire to get into a ridiculous argument with someone who obviously came here looking for one.
Good luck with your noodle.
Life Long hasn’t adapted. Your neighborhood has changed. Maybe you should. I see girls softball played at the park weekend mornings. I’ve never seen alcohol used by the soccer players nor peeing in garbage pails. They’re there to have fun. Don’t they have a right to use the park? Get a space there before them and you can use it as you wish.
Pawn shops are legitimate businesses. Survival of the fittest. They should work on their signage. I’d like a ramen noodle restaurant on that corner for goodness sake.
Unlicensed food carts should go. The quesadilla cart under 46th st: I hope you have a license!
Double parking is a blight everywhere.
Let dogs have their own park. Don’t put it near where kids play.
As long as we have this atrocious looking and criminally conducive business on one of Sunnsyide’s prime 4 corners, people from out of town who drive through will always get the urge to lock their car doors, roll up their windows and feel like this is not a safe area. That’s what pawn shops bring to mind for most people. Do I even need to get into the MONEY LAUNDERING and STOLEN GOODS issues here?
This neighborhood used to be something special. There used to be softball leagues that played night games at Skillman Park – the umps would be in gear, the lights would be on. You could walk down on a nice summer’s evening with your family and enjoy America’s favorite past time.
My Queen Of Angels little league baseball team used to practice in Skillman Park. There used to be a Queen Of Angels hockey team that played games and practiced in Skillman Park.
Nowadays, if you walk down to Skillman Park, it looks like a third world country. Each and every weekend the park gets taken hostage by soccer and volleyball players from other countries. They drink alcohol, pee on the walls and leave the place in shambles. The Parks Department “crew” even put up a garbage can and sign asking, both in English and Spanish, to urinate in the garbage can. It’s absolutely disgraceful! There are no more baseball games or little league teams. It’s just become a urine scented cesspool for soccer and volleyball enthusiasts…AND WE LET IT HAPPEN! We allow it to continue!
There is a small islamic Center on Skillman Avenue. it used to be a funeral home, ironically enough. As many Sunnyside (and NYC) motorists know, parking is horrible in Sunnyside. The traffic cops and NYPD are ruthless in the way they give out tickets around here. However, come Ramadan, the muslims are allowed to double and triple park. There is a sea of yellow and gypsy cabs, not to mention non commercial vehicles lined up on Skillman Avenue. The cops do NOTHING! When asked why their response is usually, “because it’s their holy day.” Yet, come Christmas time, if you try to double park outside of Queen Of Angels you WILL get a ticket!
We have allowed this pawn shop to open up in our neighborhood AND the one near White Castle. The petition didn’t have enough signatures and we weren’t proactive on this issue. We have allowed these “food” trucks to park and do their business. Someone mentioned doing an “informal scan” of these trucks’ licenses. OK…what have you done after that? What WILL you do with your information?
If nothing changes, NOTHING CHANGES! We can sit in our offices or in our homes and do all the “talking” we want on the internet. But NOTHING will change if we do not take the actions needed to improve our neighborhood.
There have been some fine additions to this neighborhood. The Farmer’s Market is one of them. There have been some great restaurants opened over the last few years as well. The “Taste Of Sunnyside” event was good to see. So, there are some positives things happening in our little slice of Heaven. This pawn shop is not one of them.
Again, Sunnyside is what we make of it. I realize that many people come in here now, buy a co-op, sell it and move on. But there are still many of us who were raised here and will continue to live here long after most of the people who have posted here are gone. If Sunnyside residents TRULY want to make a difference, and not just blow off hot steam, than you have to hit the pavements and do what is needed in order to see that the changes you want made get done.
This pawn shop is just another symbol of our complacency in the affairs of our neighborhood. If this were an animal related issue, such as a dog park or “puppy mill”, I am sure we would have seen much more proactivity. Why is it that the “human” and “social” issues go unaddressed?
Think about it Sunnyside.
When I referenced the food trucks, I meant to point out that only a fool would open a good sandwich shop across the street from food trucks squatting under the train station. I assume they follow basic sanitation standards, otherwise they’d go out of business. I just look at the empty storefronts in the neighborhood and thing those food truck guys should plant a flag, pay rent and become a part of the community.
@ Rick Shut Up: I don’t intend to speak for Rick (I’m sure he will post his own response), but my impression has been that his problem isn’t so much w. the food itself, but the unlevel playing field, and unfair competition, that has been created by permit-less carts. This only makes it that much harder for businesses to operate by the books in actual storefronts.
Outbreak? are you serious… are you living in Africa with Ebola infected primates?
Do some research on Halal food, it’s sacred to Muslims, probably cleaner than anything you’ve ever cooked or have eaten before. Get your facts straight, and stop making assumptions. If you don’t like the food or vendors DON’T BUY FROM THEM. They’re making an honest living just like everyone else, would you prefer they rob some local banks, or stick up some hard working neighbors instead? Didn’t think so.
Outbreak… LMFAO I gotta tell ya that’s probably one of the stupidest things i’ve read on this site. OUTBREAK from food, right…
@ 45th and Skillman
It’s amazing how many unregulated food carts there are in the city – I did an informal scan of the 9-10 trucks in Sunnyside a few weeks ago, and half of them didn’t have permits displayed. It’s just a matter of time before we have a serious disease outbreak from poor sanitation practices.
Anyone who eats at the Halal cart or any of the taco trucks is playing russian roulette with their health.
Give it time and it will close like most of the other stores in the area! People might show up to hock stuff but they don’t make money unless the people can buy their stuff back OR they can sell it.
I don’t know about anyone else, but this is the last place I’d go for something expensive/important that it works such as a computer!
I intend to hock the family jewels this morning, but the opening day waiting line was so immense that I’ve decided to return later in the week.
Looks like E-Z Pawn is going out of it’s way to be a bad neighbor. Storefront is ugly and aggressive. Well, maybe we can let them know we don’t like bad neighbors. Any ideas?
I thought that EZ Pawn was supposed to look more high end then others in the chain, but from what I can tell, it looks the same, if not worse.
Promises broken before they even open – way to go.
it won’t be long before they knock down all those blocks along the blvd anyways. pawn shops are like urban mold that grows on decaying areas.
@ Rick – Why would anyone open a restaurant/Cafe on that corner when the city is allowing food trucks to squat under the 7 train station right there and do business for free?
That Halal food stand there has to go. It’s supposed to be temporary but it’s been there for so long that the pavement is discolored around it.
What en eyesore – the outside looks like a dump. And I thought it was a dump as a bodega.
It was too bad – there was a really cool lunch counter in there. WOuld have preferred to see it as a restaurant/cafe. Or for that matter, just about anything else.
Washington has already pawned the country’s future, what the big deal about this?
Great news for local thieves!
I hope it does not draw people that will cause trouble into our town because it is right by a train startion plus we are 15 mintes from manahattan.I hope our neighborhood stays safe. Plus how is the other pawn shop by the bagel store doing.
Perfect.
Now I can get sweet cash for those really valuable things I have laying around the house.