WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A new sneaker boutique owned by rap superstar Joseph Antonio Cartagena — better known as Fat Joe — and sneaker aficionado Scotty Spina has brought a shrine to sneakerheads uptown.
UP NYC, which opened at 3806 Broadway at 158th St. Saturday with a star-studded event featuring rappers 50 Cent and N.O.R.E., former Yankees player Robinson Cano, drew a line of customers around the block who camped outside for days to get a glimpse inside the store.
“All these guys here… some of us have been here since Wednesday,” said George Cooper, 25, “This is new for Uptown. It’s new for everyone here. The closest [store] is 125th Street at the House of Hoops,” Cooper said, adding that this type of “camping out” — which he does weekly throughout the city — is new to the area.
Fat Joe launched the sneaker business with Spina — a 19-year-old buff who just graduated from high school in New Jersey — after over a year of discussing the idea and developing a mentor and mentee relationship, said Spina.
Spina has been selling sneakers for athletes and celebrities since 2014. It’s something he enjoys a lot, he said, especially the atmosphere — of hip-hop and sports — that it brings.
“We’re different. We want to be different," Spina said. "A big thing we brought in here is the sneaker museum. We’re going to be showing shoes no one has ever seen before, just to come see the store, but also the shoes we have on display.”
In addition to the sneakers museum, UP NYC has a VIP room with a wine cellar, bathroom, television and couch. They're also an authorized Nike and Jordan retail store, and sell top selling brands, such as Nike, Jordan’s, Timberland, Roc Nation, Puma and PRPS, Spina said.
“We just want to put something nice in the middle of the community, and let them enjoy it,” Spina said.
Rapper 50 Cent and Noreaga enjoyed the grand opening and selection of sneakers, with both going to Instagram and Twitter to shout-out the customers who showed up to support the new shop.
"I love what it feels like to progress," 50 Cent wrote on his Instagram account. "Im doing so good right now. all I want to do is more, I have new ideas and new energy here we go again."
"Dominicans have spoken," Joe wrote on the captioned picture with Dominican slugger and former Yankee, Robinson Cano.
As for Joe, the rapper said the sneaker transition that the only "right transition."
"I started on this block," Joe said. "Many years ago, when I was a kid, my father was a baker and he lost his job. He didn’t just quit. We went to 23rd and Broadway, and we bought a bunch of toys on wholesale and we came to this block right here and we sold it for more. That’s where I learned to be an entrepreneur and a hustler."
Joe said he thought bringing his business back to Washington Heights would be "iconic."
"The neighborhood, this is what’s it’s about. We have to show our people that we can have something beautiful like this. Something amazing," Joe said. "Imagine these kids, they probably never seen something so beautiful like this. That we treat our people that way. That when they come they can feel proud that they have something so beautiful in their neighborhood."
Joe said some of his favorite sneakers are currently on display in the sneaker museum for the next two months. In a few months, he hopes to bring another celebrities' sneaker collection, whether Carmelo Anthony, Spike Lee or even the Mayor, he said.
"These kids really love sneakers. They believe in sneakers," Joe said. "It’s only right that we take care of them."
