Tuesday, December 14, 2010

*Everyday Chatter

Ruby's plans "huge protest" for New Year's Day. [Grub]

Coney's Shore Hotel has been completely demolished by Thor. It's a sickening sight. [ATZ]

Here's a shot of the Shore I took around 1994, when the signage was still alive and kicking, and so were the hot sheets in the century-old hotel:


"Fran Lebowitz Dismayed At All the Young Tools in NYC." She says, "Someone my age is supposed to be angered by kids. You’re supposed to say, 'These crazy kids—what will they think of next?' You’re not supposed to say, 'These kids are so boring. These kids are so regressive.'" [Gothamist] Fran also tells Bust that young women are responsible for "why New York today seems suburban to me—all kids and babies in strollers. It’s 1950s domestic life." [NYO]

Tracing weird Bowery angles. [EVG]

On the fate of Mars Bar: "There's a lot of creative ways to figure it out, give it a new look and keep elements of the old look," said the developer. "But it probably won't look exactly the way that it does now." [WSJ]

Dubai on the (is the) Bowery. [BB]

A (mostly) love poem to New York from Jonathan Lethem... and other reasons to love New York. [NYM]

Like the Jacobs Effect, the McNally, and the Shack Effect, the Eataly Effect is raising rents and changing a neighborhood fast. [Grub]

Wal-Mart conducted a poll that says most New Yorkers want a Wal-Mart. [NYM]

"Nick Sprayregen’s six-year battle to stop the state from taking his buildings in West Harlem on behalf of Columbia University’s expansion apparently came to an end on Monday, when the United States Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal." [CR]

Visiting the Park Slope Armory. [13]

6 comments:

Tricia said...

I just adore your old photo of the old Shore Hotel. More please.

Marty Wombacher said...

Please, PLEASE keep WalMart out of here! I moved here from Peoria over 17 years ago to escape this shit and now it's all following me here. HELP!

Caleo said...

You can scream help all you want but at this late date the juggernaut of development cannot/will not be stopped.
The Mars Bar closing weighs heavy on the minds of many folks I know who don't read blogs.
It is, in my opinion, a symbolic turning point.
I will always love this city with all my heart, and I don't plan on leaving as my son was born here and I plan on raising him here.
But as Jeremiah's previous post so brilliantly illustrates, the tidal wave of development that has swamped this town isn't receding. The shoreline has been permanently altered, and the Mars bar was like a sole remaining antique buoy bobbing in the storm, finally to be swallowed by the waves.
Get used to Walmart and more waves of clueless, vacant twentysomethings.

Anonymous said...

Wait, WalMart ran a survey that said most New Yorkers want a WalMart. I'm shocked, shocked.

I just conducted my own survey and found that all New Yorkers surveyed do not want a WalMart, and incidentally, also think Bloomberg is the antichrist, and that the redheaded neighbor is kind of cute.

Anonymous said...

Good to hear Fran Liebowitz's comments. These kids are indeed freaking boring and complete sell outs. Later on when they actually reproduce their kids are going to hate them, just like the hippies hated their parents. Maybe at that point things will get interesting again with youth culture, but when that time comes we'll either be too old to enjoy it or dead.

Caleo said...

Anon. 10:35 is correct. The pendulum will eventually swing back in the other direction. It always does. The only question is wether any of us will be around to enjoy it.
And Fran's remarks were right on the money. It is like a high tech digitized replay of the 50's.