Tuck-It-Away was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal this weekend, in an article about the rising cost of storage space in New York. Residents of a new luxury condo on West 57th St are paying as much as $200,000 (yes, $200,000!) for storage space in their building’s basement. The article correctly points out that for the same $200,000, you could rent a 50-square-foot storage unit at Tuck-It-Away for 83 years.

TIA president Nick Sprayregen was quoted in the article, saying “In New York people need storage space, not just living space.” Yep! And we’re willing to bet this is one instance where paying more doesn’t get you more – unless those luxury storage spaces come with a Mercedes (also $200,000) already parked inside.

As part of our commitment to giving back, Tuck-It-Away is helping out the nonprofit Mercy Center with a room at one of our Bronx locations – just like other new Yorkers, they’re sometimes short on storage space.

Mercy Center is an organization that empowers women and their families in the South Bronx to liberate themselves from economic poverty. They’ve been around for over 20 years, and offer classes in parenting and family life skills, business and job skills, and personal development. They also provide ESL / immigrant services, social services and case management, and youth programs and activities.

We’ve visited Mercy Center ourselves, and we’ve seen the good they can do. Consider donating your time or money to Mercy Center – every bit helps.

From time to time, we here at Tuck-It-Away like to spotlight one of our employees. Today, we’re introducing you to Brendalee Morales, who’s worked at our 160 John St and 3261 Broadway locations for three years. We’ve always valued her professionalism and people skills, and we’re proud to say that our customers appreciate her just as much as we do. Kelli, a customer at John St, recently left a review on Yelp that singled out Brendalee by name:

“We recently moved to New York City from Dallas and had arranged to meet our movers at Tuck It Away Storage on the morning of 09/18/11.  Brendalee Morales was on duty that morning and she was helpful above and beyond the call of duty [...] She had no other staffing support that day and managed to assist us as well as a number of other customers while maintaining a pleasant demeanor, despite circumstances that might have overwhelmed someone else in the same position [...] She was more than helpful and we just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate her kindness and professionalism.”

Says Brendalee, a Bronx-dweller and New Yorker of 15 years (!): “Customer service is my specialty and  there is plenty of room for growth here at TIA. (Not to mention the bosses are awesome).” (We didn’t tell her to say that, we swear). In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and visiting family on Long Island.