Sunnyside Florist (Google)
Feb. 25, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A Sunnyside florist that has served the community for 80 years has closed its doors due to “undisclosed landlord issues.”
Sunnyside Florist, located on 40-05 Queens Blvd., has been shut since Sunday Feb. 16, and it remains to be seen when it will re-open.
The four generation, Greek-American family-run business, has been a neighborhood staple since 1940 and the closure marks the first time the store – which has never moved location – has stopped operating, according to a sign displayed under its front window.
The popular florist is known for its arrangements for weddings and parties, gardening plants, as well as delivering bouquets to stars at the nearby Silvercup Studios.
“This is as much a loss for the community as it is for the fourth generation owner of Sunnyside Florist,” said owner Greg Psitos in a Facebook post yesterday.
“This is a sign of the times and a crushing blow for small business owners across New York City,” he wrote.
Worried friends and customers reached out to Psitos on Facebook and he replied saying that “it may be a while,” before he re-opens but that he hoped to be open for Mother’s Day, which is Sunday, May 10.
The front window is now plastered with various signs, old photos and memories accumulated over the years including the shop’s “welcome wall,” which contains autographs from customers and friends.
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29 Comments
Sunnyside turning into Shittyside really quick – my wife walked by the McDonald’s this morning – several smelly homeless begging for change, they were talking overheard them mention the next fix and waiting for their dealer to deliver their heroin for their morning rush. Our new neighbors.
They should have bought the building or one close by. 80, 60, 40 years ago the place would have costs pennies
Anonymous attacker of Marybeth, You’ve displayed absolutely no “business savvy” in any of the posts here. Let us guess you mean the “business savvy “of Fox Entertainment, Uranium One Hoax Good luck with that. Have you ever even stepped into this florist?
Sarah Ross seems to have an obsession with Russians.
Mark Tully’s comments are nonsense. The commercial landlords are charging outrageous rents that they know store owners can’t pay so they can get them out and keep the property empty if they can’t pay. Then they wait for a developer to buy the property and put up an apartment.
Marybeth
My little old SunShine listen… the flower shop has been there for 80+ years and yes it is a landlord tenant dispute but the politicians have created laws especially that went into effect this year on buildings, rentals, brokers and you guessed it zoning.. You see at the end of the day it is greed and because your not business savvy or knowledgeable in this area you can only talk about superficial ,emotional rhetoric which in return is meaningless… The politician in early 1900s they were called bosses HENCE BOSS TWEED and you will understand why I said what I said …
Everyone blames the landlords for being greedy, the landlords are paying higher real estate taxes as their values are assessed upwards, who do you suppose is going to pay for those taxes in the end? The renters of course. Most of the small timers won’t see a dime of profit until they sell. Taxes should be based on rent charged and sale, not arbitrary assessments.
Great place, lovely owner, big loss for the neighborhood.
Greed by landlords is sinking the city and it’s now quite evident that the collapse is evident
If my rent and bills were not that high I’m sure I’ll buy from them flowers more often…
Don’t blame neighbors for not patronizing enough; this economy hurts everyone, the small business owner and the client.
The Darkside of Sunnyside continues to rise…
Small businesses are what built this city from street cart vendors when immigrants came here through Ellis Island and continuing to stores run by husbands and wives (mom and pop stores) and then along comes greedy landlords who have no respect or neighborhoods or the people that live there. We don’t need anymore restaurants, bars catering places (Queens Blvd Russians), pharmacies, etc. I remember Austin Street when we had Homestead Deli, shoe stores, pocketbook stores and stores selling what we needed. We need to get back to how things were, but I don’t think the increase in crime helps any.
Anonymous- The government isn’t stopping you from shopping locally, that’s all on you. You’re pointing at all the wrong people. Last I checked a city politician doesn’t handle a rent dispute (contract negotiation) or a businesses lack of business.
Oh how sad. Hope you reopen soon.
Happy to see all the hipsters that ruined sunnyside finally see how terrible their neighborhood is. All it takes is a casual stroll down your hood. Burned down lots, stores that operated for years suddenly shut down.
It’s precisely the govt who isn’t letting me or anyone “do something.”
So,so sorry to hear!!! Hope all works out so they can re open.
Terrible! Where is Van Brammer. The city council and state legislature are always naming laws affecting residential landlords but never anything against commercial landlords.
my guess is competition and rent. there are many other florists in the area.
So sad this neighborhood is not getting better only worse.
Sad story. But we have ourselves to blame for not supporting the local businesses.
So sad to hear! They did the corsage I got for my first prom!
I remember when Jim Shea worked there.
@anonymous- Where are you ? You’re always looking for government to do something. Put your money where your mouth is.
If your there 80 years did you expect the rent to get cheaper?
Queens blvd starting to look like crap , where’s JVB?
OMG I am soooo sorry to hear this. I sa a sign today that they give out a free rose on Fridays. This has been a fixture in the over 25 years we’ve lived here.
This is depressing. They also had the sweetest cat in the store.
Hopefully they will be back soon. I’ve been going there for 17 years; they did the flowers for my wedding. This would be a huge loss for the community.