Frustrated customers unable to retrieve clothes after Brooklyn dry cleaner shop shuts down
WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Dry cleaning customers in Brooklyn are fuming after they say a shop shut down, leaving them unable to get their clothes back.
When Julia Neumann went to pick up her two woolen blankets and a dress at her local dry cleaners last month, she was greeted by a locked door and notice of eviction.
"I called every number that I had," she said. "I followed every lead that I had. And then I put up some posters to get to the bottom of it. I find it crazy that there's no place to go."
The shop is Express Dry Cleaners on Broadway and Wyeth Aves in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
There's a long list of complaints even before the eviction. One neighbor told Eyewitness News she had to confront the owner last year after her son paid up front, but his clothes were returned just as dirty, and with a button never fixed.
"He says, 'oh, that's a mistake.' And I said, 'but how about it's dirty?' Says, 'oh, maybe didn't come out,' but he never gave it in to clean and he never fixed," the neighbor said.
Just last month, Eyewitness News was told other neighbors brought in their religious clothes to be cleaned for Passover, only to have their items disappear. They were forced to purchase brand new suits for the holiday.
"It's shameful to say a lot of people came in to give him this stuff, not realizing they won't get it back," the neighbor said.
The landlord claims he too was taken to the cleaners. He says the tenant missed so many payments, sent bounced checks and had long excuses to the tune of more than $40,000 owed in back rent.
It took a year to evict the dry cleaner. The landlord does not believe he'll ever get his money back. Frustrated customers fear the same for their clothes.
"I did not find my belongings, and I don't know where they are. I have no idea," Neumann said.
The landlord has let some customers inside to search for their belongings, but the cleaning was actually outsourced, so there's not much left in the now empty storefront.
However, there may be some good news for customers.
The NYC Office of the Sheriff told Eyewitness News on Tuesday, that they have taken action to ensure customers can retrieve their belongings.
They say the eviction was executed on April 17. They say the tenant removed most of his personal belongings and equipment, leaving behind a small rack of clothing. The landlord stated the he would make arrangements to have the clothing items returned for anyone interested in retrieving them.
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