Yellow rat bastard

Yellow Rat Bastard is a single location retail clothing store located in New York City SoHo area. Yellow Rat Bastard is under the name X-Treem Vibe, Inc. The current owner of the store is Henry Ishay. They specialize in selling clothing, footwear, accessories.

History

YELLOW RAT BASTARD (YRB), the word YRB was originally developed by Mark Ecko, the designer of the NYC store. The idea for the store came from a Frank Miller comic book called "Sin City"; it had an issue entitled "Yellow Rat Bastards". They transitioned from a store to having a store catalogue, magazine, and website. Their idealism " YRB is an attitude and a lifestyle.”

Magazine

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YRB Magazine is street based with a bold against-the-grain approach and a cheeky sense of humor. It is geared towards an audience who are interested in all aspects of the urban scene including street fashion, hip-hop graffiti, extreme sports, body art, contemporary and traditional arts, music and literature. The magazine started around 1998 as a literary project & then developed into a full magazine. It has provided a flavor of writing that students would want to read by offering a different view of literary and political words that are normally not the average students cup of tea. Growing in distribution and popularity, YRB is a publication for those who want to know the latest word on the streets. YRB Magazine has had its cover graced by the likes of Busta Rhymes, OutKast, Dirt McGirt, Groove Armada, Spike Lee and Alicia Keys. There are those who have said "YRB is a treat just for the photography and art design. The cover has an interesting matte (non-glossy) finish that makes it stand out on a crowded news rack." "YRB is an exceptionally well put-together bimonthly aimed squarely at the street-smart urban sophisticate who's into rock music and clubs and worries about the right threads to wear to those clubs."

Controversy

In Dec. 30 Attorney General and Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer alleges that the flagship store and 10 affiliates cheated workers out of more than $1 million dollars. Spitzer accused the stores of paying less than the state minimum wage, not paying overtime and retaliating against workers who complained by firing or demoting them. The suit seeks more than $2 million, including back wages, interest and penalties. Spitzer asked the court to freeze nearly $1 million in bank assets held by Alla Levy, a part owner of the stores and wife of founder Henry Ishay. The Trendy clothier is accused of cheating its own staff reported Dec 30th.New York's attorney general alleges in a lawsuit that Yellow Rat Bastard cheated its workers of pay and made workers face consequences if they complained. about it. The New York Times stated that Attorney General and Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer alleges that the flagship store and 10 affiliates cheated workers out of more than $1 million dollars.

Former employees said managers were abusive and rats -- originally caged and used as a marketing
 tool -- now run around the store. In an affidavit, Spitzer accused Ishay and Levy of hiding
 assets through a web of companies and accounts, reporting earnings of $1,700 a week,
 even though they bought a home valued at more than $3 million, the affidavit said.
The case is still on going at the moment.

External links

• Yellow Rat Bastard at MySpace
• Yellow Rat Bastard
  
• Science daily
  
• Gothamist
  
• Yale Review of books
  
• Periodically Speaking: YRB Magazine