BY BOB KRASNER | If there is one thing that we hate to see, it’s a music shop shutting its doors. They’ve been dropping like flies in the East Village, a neighborhood that once had so many music stores one could spend the whole day shopping for nothing but vinyl and CDs.
After a year of declining sales and a rent increase to “an unsustainable amount,” according to co-owner Jared Boxx, Big City Records made its last sale on Aug. 31 after six years on E. 12th St.
Collectors, dealers, DJs and friends spent the day saying goodbye to the tiny shop, where Boxx (center, in blue shirt, in photo at right) didn’t just mind the store. He said that, during his years as a record dealer and DJ, he felt his business was about more than just sales.
“I tried to help others around me cope with the stress and strain of this difficult world through the medium of music,” he said. After a total of 15 years at Big City and two other vinyl outlets, A-1 Records and The Sound Library, he said he’s now “taking the spiritual path to work.” He didn’t elaborate, stating just that he’ll be “working for God, who never raises the rent.”
The remaining stock will move to their Garden State location located, at 2181 Springfield Ave., Vauxhall, N.J., 07088. Call 908-688-1402 for more information.
