Red Hook Fire Destroys Cool Hand Movers Warehouse, Exposes NYC Small-Biz Risk

Inside the Cool Hand Movers warehouse after January 21 fire.

A warehouse fire exposes how rising costs leave NYC small businesses one incident away from serious interruption and even closure.

We are encouraged by Mayor Mamdani’s emphasis on empowering small business. It’s essential that service-based businesses like movers and logistics companies are included in these efforts.”

— Matt Graber

BROOKLYN, NY, UNITED STATES, January 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cool Hand Movers, a Brooklyn-based moving company, has suspended moving bin rental services following the January 21 four-alarm fire on the Red Hook waterfront that destroyed its operations facility and essential equipment. The loss highlights how increasingly fragile it has become to operate a small business in New York City, where rising fixed costs leave little margin for error.

For a small service-based business in NYC, events like this don’t happen in a vacuum. This fire hit at a moment when rising operating costs are already pushing businesses like Cool Hand Movers to operate with little financial buffer. The snowstorm that immediately followed further complicated recovery.

“This wasn’t just a property loss,” said Ashley Graber, co-owner of Cool Hand Movers. “Despite the immediate and incredible efforts of the FDNY, the fire wiped out infrastructure we spent years building and reinvesting in. We are forced to pause our moving bin rentals at a time when we need that income the most."

Small businesses across New York City have faced sustained increases in operating expenses in recent years, particularly liability and auto insurance premiums, commercial rent, and transportation-related costs. As those fixed expenses climb, many businesses lose the financial cushion that would allow them to continue through a crisis. In that context, a single incident like a fire can mean permanent closure or a prolonged interruption, even for companies that were stable and growing.

Cool Hand Movers said the fire underscores the need to view small business continuity as an economic priority for the city's administration.

“We are encouraged by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s emphasis on improving operability for small businesses and reducing unnecessary friction,” said co-owner Matt Graber. “At the same time, it’s essential that service-based businesses like movers, trades, and logistics companies are fully included in these efforts. We don’t fit the storefront model, but our ability to operate depends on physical equipment, storage, and insurance just as much as any NYC small business.”

The company is urging city leaders to ensure that small-business policy conversations account for the realities of rising fixed costs and the outsized impact unexpected disruptions can have on service-based operators.

“Small service businesses like ours are part of the city’s everyday infrastructure,” Ashley Graber added. “If New York wants us to survive and keep serving residents, support systems and policy frameworks need to reflect how narrow the margins have become.”

About Cool Hand Movers

Cool Hand Movers is a Brooklyn-based moving company owned by husband-and-wife team and native New Yorkers, Matt and Ashley Graber. Cool Hand Movers provides residential and commercial moving, packing services, and reusable moving solutions throughout the Greater New York area.

Ashley Graber
Cool Hand Movers
ashley@coolhandmovers.com
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