Economy Candy, the historic Sephardic family owned candy store on New York’s Lower East Side, held a special street renaming ceremony on July 29th, co-naming the street Morris “Moshe” Cohen way in honor of the store’s founder. Morris was born on July 28th, 1917 in the heat of New York’s Lower East Side to Greek Jewish immigrant parents from Salonika. Like many immigrants from Salonika, the Cohen family were among the first generations of Sephardic Brotherhood members in the United States. The second of seven siblings, Morris was the first member of his family to be born and raised in the United States. With so many children, and housing scarce, the family was broken up into several tenement buildings throughout the area, with Morris landing at 108 Rivington Street under the supervision of his grandmother, the very same address Economy Candy now occupies.
After returning from service in World War II, Morris wasted no time immersing himself back into his community on the Lower East Side. Toiling tirelessly at his now historic family business, Economy Candy, he was admired for offering jobs to neighborhood kids and providing a safe haven for all who sought it. Known to always be at his unofficial post on the northwest corner of Rivignton and Essex Streets, Morris became a treasured resource of knowledge and advice for his diverse community of downtown neighbors.
Cohen’s family had been hoping for the honor since his death at the age of 97 in 2015. They began a letter-writing campaign in 2020 and collected signatures with the help of other area business owners and local City Council member Christopher Marte. Their efforts finally collected all the required rubber stamps earlier this year.
The dedication was followed by a special block party around Economy Candy, replete with delicious treats, goodie bags and contributions by other confectionery vendors.
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