Re: [CR] Stuyvesant Bike Shop

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli)

Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:34:45 -0400
From: "James Swan" <jswan@optonline.net>
In-Reply-To: <80E868D9-7E0B-400C-B86B-87391871C679@verizon.net>
To: Michael Allison <cyclo_one@verizon.net>
References: <555632.17810.qm@web84107.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, andy@strawberrybicycle.com
Subject: Re: [CR] Stuyvesant Bike Shop


The original location of Toga was on Avenue B.

Jamie Swan Northport, NY, USA jswan@webb-institute.edu http://www.jamieswan.net http://www.limws.org http://www.liatca.org

On Aug 20, 2009, at 11:31 AM, Michael Allison wrote:
> Joe,
>
> I think you're right about the 13th St. location. My neurons don't
> fire like they used to. Perhaps I'm confusing the Ave. A location
> with Toga Bike shop which was also in the area. Now there is
> another shop that was very responsive to the lightweight bike
> crowd. Dale can you give more on Toga??
>
> Michael Allison
> New York, NY
>
>
> On Aug 19, 2009, at 6:54 PM, Joseph LaTassa wrote:
>
>> Hi Mike,
>> ... after the Ave A and 12th location you mentioned, there was
>> also a stint at 8 East 13th, I thought....
>>
>> Joe LaTassa
>> Hellertown, PA 18055
>>
>> --- On Wed, 8/19/09, Michael Allison <cyclo_one@verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> From: Michael Allison <cyclo_one@verizon.net>
>> Subject: [CR] Stuyvesant Bike Shop
>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> Cc: andy@strawberrybicycle.com
>> Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 10:34 AM
>>
>>
>> "What happened to Sal and Stuyvesant Cycle Shop?"
>>
>> Sal Corso is still with us but retired. His old shop has gone
>> through several incarnations. The very first Stuyvesant was on
>> Ave. A and 12th Street. It next moved to First Avenue, and
>> sometime in the 1980s, moved to West 14th Street between 8th and
>> 9th Avenues. With that move came a new name-"A Bike Shop," which
>> took up two store fronts. But by the 1990s, Sal closed one side
>> and the shop shrunk. In the early 2000, it moved to West 26th St.
>> and 7th Ave. Then about two years ago it moved yet again.
>>
>> All these moves show how difficult it is to make it in the bike
>> business in NYC. In its day, Stuyvesant was a great resource for
>> the lightweight racing bikes and equipment we all love. Today the
>> shop is a shadow of its past. I don't know the particulars of its
>> demise. But I'm sure Sal Corso was a powerful force in making the
>> shop standout. He always had a booth at the New York Bike Show.
>>
>> Another bike shop from those days, Toga, has expanded to 5 stores.
>> Though one of them recently closed after only a year in business.
>> The economy and a big rent increase put the shop out of business.
>>
>> Michael Allison
>> New York, NY