B&H Photo Video
420 9th Avenue | Hudson Yards | built 1929
Open on the map8 entries
The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1997
B&H moves into its Ninth Avenue store, then quickly outgrows it
B&H, which began in lower Manhattan in 1973, moved to its Ninth Avenue store in 1997 and expanded rapidly afterward. By November 2005 company executives told the Associated Press that the building had already been outgrown, and they hoped to double the retail space to about 70,000 square feet by the following April.
Source: sunjournal.com
- 2005
An AP profile finds 8,000 to 9,000 people a day passing through B&H's Ninth Avenue doors
In November 2005 the Associated Press described the Ninth Avenue store as possibly the best-known camera shop in the world, with 8,000 to 9,000 visitors on a typical day. Buses brought in many of its 800 to 900 employees, and the Hasidic dress of much of the staff earned the shop the nickname "Beard and Hats." Conveyor belts above the counters carried each order to the cashiers, and the store closed from Friday afternoon until Sunday for the Sabbath.
Source: sunjournal.com
- 2007
B&H opens a second selling floor, reaching 70,000 square feet of sales space
B&H added a second selling floor above the original one in 2007, which brought the store's sales space to 70,000 square feet. The company also moved its offices to 440 Ninth Avenue that year. A conveyor belt system along the ceiling moves purchases around the store.
“In 2007, B&H opened a second floor above its original sales floor making a total of 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2) of sales space.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2010
Overhead conveyors and a Sabbath rule define the Ninth Avenue superstore
A WNYC report in August 2010 found conveyor belts whirring overhead to carry goods from the stockroom to the front registers, a cavernous camera floor on the second level, and many Hasidic employees. The store fills an entire city block and closes for the Jewish Sabbath, and the owner also decided that the website would take no orders from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. A spokesman said the owner holds that something matters more than a Saturday purchase.
Source: wnyc.org
- 2010
Seven women sue B&H, saying men get the sales-floor jobs and higher pay
In 2010 seven women accused B&H of paying female staff less than men and keeping the sales jobs almost entirely for men. Lead plaintiff Nakisha Cushnie, 30, of the Bronx said her $9 an hour was less than half of what male co-workers told her they earned, and she was fired in late June after joining the suit. WNYC counted between zero and three women among dozens of sales clerks on several visits. B&H insisted that it follows the law.
Source: wnyc.org
- 2015
B&H opens an Apple-authorized shop inside its computer department
In 2015 B&H added an Apple authorized shop within the computer department of its Ninth Avenue superstore, stocked with a range of Apple products. An Apple employee works in the shop to help and advise customers. The store had by then been B&H's home for 18 years, since the move from West 17th Street in 1997.
“In 2015, B&H added an Apple authorized shop to the computer department with an assortment of Apple products.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2020
B&H closes its SuperStore for two weeks as the pandemic reaches New York
On March 16, 2020, B&H shut its Ninth Avenue SuperStore, saying it would stay closed through Saturday, March 28. CEO Menashe Horowitz said the safety of staff and community came first. Online orders, phone sales and store pickup of online orders stayed open, and sales and service staff were expected to work from home where they could.
Source: ymcinema.com
- 2023
B&H sells custom LEGO models of its flagship store for its 50th anniversary
For its 50th anniversary in 2023, B&H sold custom LEGO models of its flagship store on Ninth Avenue. The same year brought the company's first Bild Expo, a free two-day event at the Javits Center on September 6 and 7.
“…as part of the company's 50th anniversary celebration, B&H sold custom LEGO models of their flagship store…”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- B&H PhotoWikipedia
Nearby
- Sloane House YMCA360 West 34th Street | 3 entries
- One Manhattan West401 9th Avenue | 9 entries
- Church of St. Michael424 West 34th Street | 3 entries
- Webster Apartments419 West 34th Street | 4 entries
- Manhattan Center311 West 34th Street | 11 entries
- James A. Farley Building421 8th Avenue | 13 entries