In 2008, we heard that the Mobil gas station on Chelsea's 10th Avenue, just at the edge of the Meatpacking District and nestled under the High Line, was sold for high-end development. Still, it lived on. Last week, we heard that it was sold again.
This time, the new owners aren't screwing around--they want their 17,000 square feet of luxury retail and they want it fast.
I took a walk by and found the station has been shut down.
Yellow caution tape is strung across it and "SORRY CLOSED" signs are on all the pumps. The Lube Center is shuttered. No cars are being washed. The Market has been emptied of all its snacks.
Forlorn drivers roll up, look at the place in disbelief, then roll away.
It's another loss for old Gasoline Alley--and another win for the new High Line.
More of this:
Poppy's Terminal Food Shop
10th Ave. Tire Shop
Bear Auto
Village Lukoil
Brownfeld Auto
A gas station? You are mourning a Mobil gas station? Replacing a gas station with a big building is not the suburbanization of New York, it's the desuburbanization of New York.
ReplyDeleteThis gas station always reminded me of gritty old New York. Another one bites the dust.
ReplyDeleteBut it is pretty crazy that it won't be long before you will be hard-pressed to fill a freaking car with gas on the island of Manhattan...I mean, come on. We have to go "off island" now to get gas or to get a good mechanic? Kind of crazy.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous" obviously NOT a NYer...these are bits of the soul of New York...that's NEW YORK...not Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteWow, that was sudden. Yet, the Liberty Hotel lives on...I wonder for how long?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I'm just curious - without gas stations, where do cabs go?? Is this some sneaky way of eliminating cars from Manhattan?
For those of you who don't care about losing yet another gas station in Manhattan, uh, where do you think the taxis you take are going to get their tanks filled? Soon, they'll have to head out into Queens or Jersey for gas and repairs, and we'll all be paying even more for taxi rides.
ReplyDeletethe meatpackers' trucks also fill up at these places--and without gas stations we may see them leave the neighborhood even faster.
ReplyDelete@ Goggla - I often wonder about the Liberty Hotel too. I pass it frequently and marvel that it's still standing! Memories of that place back in the 80s... I wonder if the hallway floors are still lined in plastic.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 1:27PM
ReplyDeleteIf all the Manhattan gas stations close, cabbies aren't going to balk at taking fares to Brooklyn or Queens, because that'll be their opportunity to fill up.
I took a rare morning stroll on the HL Monday from 28th to 23rd while I was over there knowing it wouldn't be packed with tourists (there were plenty at 10am, by the way) - Just wanted to see what it was like. The most notable element of Schadenfreude of this 'urban oasis' is that all those gullible people who bought multi-million $$$ homes at eye-level of the HL have now had to invest in block-out devices (fencing, curtains, etc.) to hide from the corndog carnival atmosphere they were told would be so elegant and peaceful. Those people (and their entire lives) are now the Highline Sideshow as they cower in their luxury boxes with their giant plasma screen TVs. The marketing of those buildings is hysterical - they show tranquil park-like views, trees, greenery, all viewed, of course, from a luxurious perch by chic people drinking bubbly. The reality is that anyone living adjacent the HL has contributed to the true deterioration of the neighborhood and are themselves the victims in this transformation. I saw many of the tourists pointing their cameras directly into the homes at eye-level as if they were animals in a zoo. Serves them all right and I'm glad there's a tiny bit of revenge we can all take comfort in.
ReplyDeleteNot good. Leaves only 1 (shitty) car wash left downtown at 6th Ave & Broome, and no more quick oil change place. To Anonymous 9:18 AM, you don't seem to realize that Manhattanites actually NEED things like gas stations and car washes, even if they only use Zip Cars. Lots of people own cars in Manhattan, and lots of them use them every day for work etc. Unless everything runs on electricity, people still need gas stations.
ReplyDeleteThis always was Manhattan's most overpriced gas station in recent years ... at times a full 75 cents more per gallon of self serve than the stations just 1-1/2 miles up Tenth Avenue. And soon another development built atop volatile hydrocarbons...
ReplyDeleteReal New Yorkers don't need to worry about filling up a tank of gas because Real New Yorkers don't have cars.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.streetsblog.org/2011/04/06/new-yorks-car-ownership-rate-is-on-the-rise/
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to draw any hard conclusions from this data, but it's kind of interesting.
@Anon 6:55 - I worry about that carwash on 6th Ave. It's right next to a vacant lot and I've recently seen people poking around in there. With one side on quiet Sullivan and its "Soho" location, I'm willing to be its days are numbered.
ReplyDeleteAnd, most "real" New Yorkers might not use private cars, but many use work vehicles, all of which need fuel.
Yeah the car wash on 6th avenue and broome is boarded up as of last week :(
ReplyDelete