Extell is planning to demolish the former ABC building on Columbus Avenue to make way for a 1200′ tower
Mirror, mirror on the block, help the tourists find the kiosk. If you’ve been walking past the newsstand on the corner of West 66th Street and Columbus Avenue, now buried under heavy scaffolding as demolition of the ABC building continues, you’ve probably noticed the stand is in a precarious position. Foot traffic is being redirected into the street instead of along the sidewalk, making the kiosk almost invisible unless you’re paying close attention or already know it’s there. Every week, there seems to be a new set of flashing signs, arrows, and, more recently, multiple mirrors placed around the scaffolding to help catch the newsstand’s reflection. Business has suffered.
Advertisement
Since July 2025, when scaffolding went up around the former ABC building—now in the demolition phase to make way for a planned 1,200-foot supertall high-rise by Extell Development—the loss of foot traffic has led to a 60% decrease in business, according to Sam Doctor, who has been running the newsstand for almost two decades, dating back to the early 1990s.“They used to always walk by, but now people are directed into the street path,” said Doctor, gesturing behind his post.
Sam Doctor pointing out the problem
Doctor and the team of vendors who share shifts have put up various “open” signs around the shop to attract customers, but since July, Doctor says, it’s mostly been locals. “Tourists don’t know we’re here; they don’t really notice us.”
ILTUWS was told that the stand’s owner, Mark Sepanski—whose name appears on the kiosk’s Tobacco Retail Dealer License issued by NYC’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection—is currently working with Extell on potential resolutions. However, Doctor wasn’t sure if anything would come of those negotiations. “I’m not involved in that part,” he noted, adding that it’s possible the stand could move to a new location while construction unfolds, but no plan has been made. Their daily hours usually run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., or later.
Advertisement
ILTUWS also went looking for the Teriyaki Guys NYC food cart, which was known to be positioned right outside the ABC building entrance and exit by the Today Show on Columbus Avenue, just steps from the newsstand, with its own faithful cast of customers. However, in recent months, that cart has been nowhere to be found.“He moved to Florida,” said Kimberly Cardoso, also from Queens, who runs the El Rey Del Sabor taco truck nearby, currently on Broadway and West 67th Street on the corner where the new Mango fast-fashion retailer is opening. “He’s done.”
Cardoso said what affected the Teriyaki Guys business most was the illegal vendors who are known to set up along Columbus Avenue, selling various $10 dishes of chicken over rice, drinks, and other specialties. “They bullied him. He was down on his luck, dealing with depression.”
Cardoso said illegal food vending has been “unfair” to what her family has built (her mother opened the truck in 2007). Earlier this year, they renewed their vendor lease through a third party who holds and re-sells the permit for $20,000 over two years. On a good day, she would clear over $400 in profit, but lately—since she had to move her cart from the scaffolding on Columbus and 68th by the Equinox and Post Office to her new spot on Broadway—she’s been down to around $65.
Kimberly Cardoso’s food truck is currently located at 67th and Broadway
“We contacted City Council, and the Sanitation Department cleared out the illegal vendors, but they come right back,” she told us.
“I work nonstop,” said Cardoso. “I work two to three jobs; that’s why we’re still able to be here.” Her mother at one point had five Mexican food carts in Manhattan—hers is still at 59th and Third—but now they’re down to three, and they only work with a second person in the truck part time. “This is hard,” said Cardoso, who is fighting to keep her family’s legacy alive.
El Rey Del Sabor is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
