In the window I saw the pale, boyish face of Van Dexter, the man who presided over the shop for the past 39 years. I waved to him and he invited me inside. In his late 80s, Mr. Dexter may be hard of hearing, but his skin is smooth, almost translucent, and his eyes are sharp. He stood in the ruins of his once-packed shop, now stripped bare, all the toys taken by a single buyer. He is putting his beloved carousel horses up for auction. "I hate to see them go, most of all," he told me. He won't open another shop, though, and hopes to get back into acting.
He gave me a souvenir pen that doesn't write unless "you lick it or light the end with a match." He licked the ballpoint to demonstrate and handed me a card. On it, I noted the scandalous rent increase that has pushed him out of his neighborhood: It's going from $7,000 a month to $15,000. When he first moved in, back in 1969, he was paying $150.
i really loved that shop and will miss it and Mr. Dexter.
ReplyDelete*fingers crossed for another Pinkberry!*
as a resident of the west village, i've always made monthly visits to second childhood and was proud of its existence in a neighborhood becoming ever more devoid of charm and character. I am deeply depressed that it's gone!! what's the village without a toystore?
ReplyDeleteAnd Molly Picon (famous actress of Yiddish film and theater) played the stubborn lady who would not move.
ReplyDeleteMy heart sank last night as well (March 23rd) when I walked past the For Rent sign in this this lovely shop window. I make vintage charm bracelets & frequently stopped in here to chat with Mr. Dexter & purchase (at his great, reasonable prices) goofy charms & miniatures. What a lovely man. The NYC I love & cherish is vanishing...not sure what to do about this...
ReplyDeleteuWell written moving piece. Well done Jeremiah....
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite stores to just go in and browse. A little fire breathing Godzilla I got about 30 years ago still works;-) What a treat to see the Flicker set on this place after adding something to your Vanishing NYC Flicker pool.
ReplyDeletean interesting blog....good idea you had.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to locate where Van Dexter lived in Greenwich Village as he rented out a room to Steve McQueen!!
ReplyDeleteClue - it was around the corner from Whelan's Drug store (Sixth Avenue and W8Street)
Hope someone can help..
Don - www.DonInNewYork.com
I grew up on Grove st between Bedford and Bleecker. I used to frequent that shop as a kid and it was wonderous at that age. Second Childhood used to be the only place to get Godzilla and Mega Godzilla die cast figures with launching parts. It was also one of the few places outside of Japan that had "Battle of the Planets" figures. I'll miss it, my old neighborhood is disappearing beneath plastic, oppressive rent and a gaggle of people who move in and in a matter of days feel it's their neighborhood and those of us who were born and raised there don't count
ReplyDeleteDear Bill,
ReplyDeleteDid you ever meet Steve McQueen around the Village?
If so, do you know where he lived in the Village?
Also, do you know where Van Dexter lived before he opened his Toy shop?
Hope you or anyone can help me please...
Regards,
Don
I LOVED that shop. Van was great. He ALWAYS had a story about a celebrity toy collector that I had just missed. The last time I was in Bruce Willis (a toy train collector)had just been by. I stopped by every time I was in New York. I remember that I was in NYC for weekend and was headed down Bleecker... about 50 ft away, in my periphery I could see that the windows were bare. When I got in front of the place, I was filled with a sense of dread... the same dread that I feel every time one of my favorite NYC haunts is gone. Alphaville, The Last Wound Up, Alice's Underground, Mood Indigo... The list goes on and on. I think of Van often. I try to catch a glimpse of him in the movie "The Eyes of Laura Mars." I will keep looking for him. He was a swell guy. I hope that he is well.
ReplyDelete