David’s Watch Repair Shop Survives
By Brian and Joy Pape
David stands at the door of his new Watch Repair shop location at 508 Hudson Street, right next to Greenwich Village Animal Hospital. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.
David’s Watch and Shoe Repair is no more, but David’s Watch Repair is, in its new location.
By sharing the storefront space of Acme Cleaners at 508 Hudson Street, David is able to continue his service to the community. His new hours are Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., then Friday 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday 12 to 6 p.m.
It’s been a difficult transition from his store further south on Hudson near Barrow Street, where he’d shared his shop with Levy, doing shoe repair, for many years. Finding a new place that’s affordable for a small “mom and pop” type store is almost impossible, but David has managed, with the help of his attorney, our own Arthur Z. Schwartz
Arthur has reported before, in the Village View, about David’s tenure and plight. In 1984, David opened his watch repair shop at 460 Hudson Street. Since then, his rent has increased 8-10 fold. During the pandemic, his store like many others was closed for six months, but unlike many store owners who just threw in the towel, David paid partial rent every month when he reopened. When business fully returned, he could resume paying his full $4,500/month rent.
But when his greedy, unappreciative landlord sued him for $52,000 in back rent and asked a court to evict him (or he thinks his landlord would double the rent), push came to shove, and David’s landlord shoved him to the street.
David Solovyov was born 80 years ago in Uzbekistan, went to engineering school and was in the Russian Army for three years, serving in Ukraine (which were then republics within the Soviet Union). He learned watch repair at night, working and fixing sewing machines during the day. He immigrated to the United States in 1980 with three children and had another child here. He had a plan to have his son, who he trained, take over his business.
David’s is one of the few real neighborhood businesses left in our community, and he is greatly appreciated by his customers, including these reporters. Please stop by and say hello and let him know you read about him in the Village View. You can also give him a call at his shop — 646-486-2680 or his cell, 347-616-0324.
Learn more at The Village Preservation Blog.
CORRECTION: David, the proprietor, is now offering shoe repair as well as watch repair, since he is working with Levy off-site to handle the shoe repair. David has put out a “new” (actually old) yellow sandwich board sign against the window announcing the shoe repair service. Just drop off your shoes with David, and he’ll take care of it from there. We regret any inconvenience our earlier article may have caused.
