Metropolis (credit: Sharon VanderKaay via Flickr)
The future of famed antiques junk store Metropolis could be in jeopardy, thanks to rising neighborhood rents and a strict new landlord.
Nick Metropolis, the owner of the local treasure — or eyesore, depending on whom you ask — must pay $5,000 by Tuesday or see his store kicked out of its space on South La Brea Avenue, the New York Times reported.
Metropolis reportedly owes more than $100,000 in unpaid rent. On Monday, a judge ordered Metropolis to pay $4,000 a week, plus $1,000 in back pay, or risk eviction.
The store’s former landlord, a rabbi from a local yeshiva, would always spot Metropolis the money if he was short on his $16,000-a-month rent. But the rabbi died last year, and the new landlord hasn’t been so forgiving.
Metropolis started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the rent, but the page had raised only $3,258 of its $50,000 goal as of Friday. [NYT] — Kathryn Brenzel