All stories about "Storagemart"

Great Wallabout Chopstick Storage Collapse, Continued

Remember the weird story about the 10 tons of stored chopsticks that caused a collapse at a StorageMart in Wallabout where, in the ultimate irony, some refugees of the illegal matzo factory fiasco at 475 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg were storing their belongings? The, uh, details have been fleshed out. The Department of Buildings confirmed the collapse and advance item from Sunday's Times on CityRoom by Jake Mooney says the "locker collapse originated in a unit on an upstairs floor" because the chopsticks "got too heavy and caused the floor to collapse, breaking a water pipe and flooding units below." A StorageMart spokesperson says "the number of times that something screwy happens, you could count on one hand if you had three fingers." Damage could include up to $150,000 in camera equipment belonging to 475 Kent refugee photographers, but no one will know until they can get back in and survey the damage, maybe next week. As for 475 Kent, repairs to the building continue in the hope of people moving back in.
· Strewn Storage: Chopsticks Become Pick-Up Sticks [CityRoom]
· 475 Kent Refugees Victimized by 10 Tons of Chopsticks? [Curbed]

475 Kent Refugees Victimized by 10 Tons of Chopsticks?

First came the matzos at Williamsburg's 475 Kent, which were a big factor in January's mass eviction. Now, come the 10 tons of chopsticks. A StorageMart where a lot of the refugees were keeping their belongings in Wallabout, near the Kent Avenue entrance to the BQE, suffered a mysterious interior collapse recently and residents are blaming 20,000 pounds of stored chopsticks. Uh huh. Specifically:

Some part of the StorageMart apparently flooded and partially collapsed - the rumor is that it happened because there were 20,000 pounds of chopsticks stored in one of the units. My former roommate has been trying for two weeks to get his stuff out...There are a lot of other storage places down Flushing and I talked to some of them and they all have heard about it but don't want to talk about it.

Speaking of 475 Kent, the petition calling on the city to let people back in now has more than 4,100 signatures. Meanwhile, the 475 Kent Blog is tracking progress of the work residents are doing to bring the building up to code. Working is ongoing on the sprinkler system. As for StorageGate, there are no news reports yet of a troubling Brooklyn chopstick shortage.
· The Great Wallabout Chopstick Storage Collapse Mystery [Gowanus Lounge]
· The Fight for 475 Kent Goes On [Curbed]