Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

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.

Trapeze School New York just set up a tent behind our building on West 29^th St! So after you visit us, you can walk around the corner and go flying through the air on a trapeze, take a stroll on the High Line – which is also next to our 29th St location – or just visit some of the great galleries in the neighborhood. With all that cool stuff around, you’ll be finding excuses to put stuff in storage.

We’re proud to say that Tuck-It-Away supports the High Line! We recently donated to Friends of the High Line, which provides over 70% of the High Line’s operating budget and maintains the park. We want all New Yorkers to be able to enjoy this unique, historic park for years to come.

If you haven’t been to the High Line yet, what are you waiting for? We’re partial to the northern section of the park (just opened this summer!), since it runs right past our 29th St and 10th Ave location. Check it out, we’re on the far left:

Thanks to everyone who gave us responses on Facebook and Twitter! We sure learned that there were a lot of odd items put in storage. All of you who participated gave us a lot to debate over who had the strangest item ever put in storage. From apple pies to a stuffed albatross, a vinyl treasure chest to a Hello Kitty collection, our customers sure now how to Tuck-It-Away.

Stay tuned to find out our winners for this contest which will be announced this week!

Tuck-It-Away is offering two months free to new customers who sign up December 16-19th! Rent a room 8×8 or smaller at one of our 13 locations in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey, and you get the first two months free of charge. Call now and speak to one of our representatives about this amazing deal. This deal is subject to room availability so call now. Don’t miss out, call us today at 718-519-8282 or 212-368-1717 or contact us to learn more about NY’s premier storage company and Tuck-It-Away today!

The United States Supreme Court will decide today whether or not it will hear the appeal from Nick Sprayregen (case 10-402) regarding his rights to protect his family’s property from being seized by New York state. According to court documents this would allow Columbia University–a private entity–to build an expanded research center.

Sprayregen’s business is a 30 year-old New York City storage company called Tuck-It-Away, and he has been fighting for over six years to keep his property. With support from the Institute for Justice, Sprayregen is hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will step in and protect him and other private property owners.

Rather than negotiate with businesses and residences Sprayregen says, “Columbia has never tried to negotiate with me. They immediately sought the use of eminent domain to take my business from me and the property of my neighbors.”

Sprayregen says Columbia has used its influence with government to take away his family’s land which includes a Tuck-It-Away storage location. Dana Berliner, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice argues that Columbia is misusing the law, “Eminent domain is supposed to be for public uses, projects the public will own and use, such as a road or a post office.”

The importance of this case is ringing around the country as many citizens may find their land in jeopardy depending on the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case.

Citation:

Kramer, John E. “U.S. Supreme Court Decides Whether to Hear New York Eminent Domain Abuse Case.” Institute for Justice. December 6, 2010