Need to Know for Jan. 15

Cohen’s Clothiers, Michael Bloomberg, Carol Channing and more

Farewell to Cohen's — Farewell to Cohen’s — After 115 years, the company says farewell. (Screenshot from Cohen’s’ Facebook page)

Cohen’s Clothiers closing

On Jan. 12, Cohen’s Clothiers, the family-owned Cockeysville retailer announced on its website and Facebook page it will close its doors after 115 years in business. Longtime proprietor Gilbert Cohen said the store will close in several weeks after a liquidation sale. “It’s time,” said Cohen, 81, noting that the store’s current lease runs out in late April. Cohen’s news comes on the heels of recent closing announcements from such beloved local Jewish-owned businesses as Diversions, Donna’s, Greetings & Readings, Trillium and Tuxedo Pharmacy. Cohen said the owners of Yorktowne Plaza, where his store is located, indicated to him that the complex will eventually be renovated. He said he decided not to sign a new lease because a renovation might have meant Cohen’s would likely move to another part of the shopping center.

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Developers selected for two key parcels at Clipper Mill

Will the cavernous Tractor Building at Clipper Mill survive the latest wave of development in the historic mill community? That question is likely to be addressed in the next week, when developers meet with community residents to provide an update on their latest plans, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. Valstone Partners, the new owner for much of the land at Clipper Mill, recently notified the Woodberry Community Association that it has selected developers for two key parcels that will kick off a new round of construction at Clipper Mill. Peter Garver, of Garver Development Group in Mount Washington, has been chosen to build on a surface lot at 2001 Druid Park Drive, an area targeted for new housing. One of Garver’s most recent projects was the Highland Haus apartments that replaced Haussner’s Restaurant in East Baltimore. He also oversaw conversion of the former Rouse Company headquarters in Columbia to a Whole Foods Market and other uses. A company called Commercial Development has been selected to be the developer of the Tractor Building, which stands across the street from Woodberry Kitchen and other tenants in recycled mill buildings. Headed by Kevin Johnson, Commercial Development is currently building 296 apartments and street level commercial space on the site of the former Hendler ice cream plant, a $75 million project, also in East Baltimore.

Bloomberg would “self-fund” presidential campaign

Billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg said he would self-fund a 2020 presidential campaign. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, made the statement on Jan. 11 to reporters in Texas, where he was on a philanthropic trip, after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who already has entered the 2020 race with an exploratory committee, called the Democratic presidential nomination “one more plaything that billionaires can buy.” Bloomberg, 76, is worth about $44 billion, according to Forbes. He spent about $100 million to help elect Democrats in the midterm elections to help the party gain control of the House of Representatives. A political independent, Bloomberg endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections, calling Trump a “risky, reckless and radical choice.” He has criticized the president since his election. Bloomberg said Jan. 11 he won’t make a decision on a possible run for president for “another month or so.”

Women’s March names 3 Jewish women to its steering committee

On Jan. 14, the Women’s March announced its new 32-member steering committee. The Jewish members are transgender rights activist Abby Stein; Union for Reform Judaism staffer April Baskin; and Jewish diversity activist Yavilah McCoy. Stein, a formerly Hasidic transgender woman, has worked to raise awareness for transgender people as well as those leaving haredi Orthodox Judaism. Baskin is the former Vice President of Audacious Hospitality for the Union for Reform Judaism and is a former president of the Jewish Multiracial Network. McCoy is the founder of Ayecha, a Jewish nonprofit that advocates for Jews of color. The Women’s March has come under fire in recent months due to its leaders’ handling of allegations of anti-Semitism, with celebrities and activists openly criticizing the organizers’ actions.

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Carol Channing dies

Singer/actress/Tony Award-winner Carol Channing died Jan. 15 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., according to USA Today. She was 97. Publicist B. Harlan Boll, who confirmed her death to USA Today, said the actress died of natural causes after suffering two strokes last year. “It is with extreme heartache, that I have to announce the passing of an original industry pioneer, legend and icon: Miss Carol Channing,” he said in a statement. “It is so very hard to see the final curtain lower on a woman who has been a daily part of my life for more than a third of it. We supported each other, cried with each other, argued with each other, but always ended up laughing with each other.”

More awards for ‘Mrs. Maisel’

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won Best Comedy Series and its star Rachel Brosnahan won Best Comedy Actress at the Critics’ Choice Awards. The awards given by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Broadcast Television Journalists Association were held Jan. 13 at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, Calif. Alex Borstein, who plays Brosnahan’s sidekick Susie in the Amazon series, won Best Supporting Actress in a comedy series.

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