Brooklyn Deli Puts Its Window Display on Airbnb

The owner is facing a proposed rent hike from $4K to $10K
By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 25, 2015 8:05 AM CDT
Brooklyn Deli Puts Its Window Display on Airbnb
"Semi-private bedroom with iPhone docking pad."   (Airbnb)

Fed up with the disappearance of many mom-and-pop shops on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, two regular customers of Jesse's Deli, a bodega run by Jesse Itayim, are trying to help this one stay. After learning that the shop might have to move now that the landlord is trying to raise the rent from $4,000 to $10,000 a month, Tommy Noonan and Douglas Cameron decided to use their marketing skills, and a little "prankster activism," to raise enough money to help the owner stay, reports Gothamist. The Brooklyn Paper reported on the duo's first stunt in June, which saw them rebrand the store's goods in an "artisanal takeover" meant to show what type of shop could afford such a rent (one that sold $5.99 "Hand-Cured Salami Tubes"—also known as Slim Jims).

Now Noonan and Cameron have put Jesse's 7-by-4-foot window display on Airbnb for $329 a night. According to the listing, the place comes equipped with many desirable amenities, including a "luxurious walk-in refrigerator," large basement storage that "could double as play room for kids," "a selection of breakfast coffees," "chef-style kitchen with professional toaster [and] meat slicer," and, of course, the "semi-private bedroom" with iPhone docking station. But no one can actually spend the night—a disclaimer on the listing explains it's part of a protest and that donations are welcome. And all are invited to get in on the action. "You can just sit there for free and take a selfie of yourself protesting," Noonan says. A few dozen people have already done so. (This may be an even quirkier Airbnb option.)

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