On Bleecker Bob's possible move to the East Village. [EVG]
Help Bleecker Bob's relocate with a little donation! [IGG]
CBGB meets DBGB: Marky Ramone to serve his sauce at Boulud. [Grub]
Bloomberg's Gilded New York--lots of stuff to read! [Nation]
"New Yorkers have been kvetching about the disappearance of old New York since there was a New York. But the real-estate market of this moment suggests that Mayor Bloomberg’s description of the city as a luxury product is becoming more and more true... many of New York’s most expensive apartments sit empty for much of the year, their superrich owners using them as vacation properties and safe investments instead of actual homes." [NYM]
Financial District gets a Hooters style shoeshine stand--their 70-year-old competitor not amused. [NYDN]
Go see "If These Knishes Could Talk" on May 16. [BDB]
Wigstock 1993. [NY90s]
Privatization of the Commons in Mayor Bloomberg's New York. [HP]
Cupcakes are hopefully dying. [WSJ]
Old NYC bars and their books of matches. [AVW]
The Meatpacking District devours itself as national chains prepare to oust the fashionistas. [DNA]
"God help us if Denny’s and 7-Eleven become part of the artistic culture." [AMNY]
"New York City’s hipster and elitist class seem to believe that they should have some role in determining what business owners do with their property... By what authority do elites like Moss get to decide what businesses appear in New York City and which ones do not?" [AIPB]
9 comments:
Interesting article in the NYT RE section last week titled "The Treasure Trove on the Ground Floor", which explained how a recently expired law removed an incentive for coops to keep their ground floor commercial rent low.
"where these elites dwell (most of whom are renters, by the way)"
?????
Many of the articles in the Nation make clear that much of the massive and rapid transformation we are seeing was actually planned out decades ago, and is only now coming to fruition. The intellectual and financial titans who control New York, as well as the rest of the country, have always had a long term vision for what they want NYC to be. What seems bewildering to the rest of us on the ground caught up in the tidal wave is simply the realization of several decades worth of planning and organizing at the state and local level.
They have every intention of turning Manhattan into a type of exclusivist, gated community. They use rapidly rising rents to push out all the undesirable elements, and welcome in a wealthy overclass of monied elites from Europe, Asia and Brazil.
This might sound defeatist, but trying to fight these people is like playing chess with someone who is thinking 5 or 10 moves ahead. These people are highly intelligent and highly motivated, and people like that usually get what they want because they are working and planning years or even decades into the future.
Most of us down here on the ground are simply reacting to the changes around us. We don't stand a chance. The wild, creative chaos of the 70's and 80's happened because TPTB were caught with their pants down. It was a fortuitous accident. TPTB have since regrouped and redoubled their efforts, and I seriously doubt we shall see anything like that again.
Those of us who got to the city in the late 80's and early 90's were living in the afterglow of the chaos of the 70's, and at the time it seemed like old New York could never be transformed. I certainly didn't think it could.
On some level, I mourn the passing of that wild old beast everyday. It's why I read this blog. But reading the links brings the realization that TPTB have done their homework, and then some.
Old New york is gone and it's never coming back.
Dubai on the Hudson, here we come.
Yeah Jeremiah -- who died and put you in charge of deciding what businesses come and go in New York? And how long have you held this position of power? Until I read this, I had no idea you were The Grand Poobah Of Hipsters, Elitists And NYC Real Estate.
Just out of curiosity, how much does the gig pay? And are there any openings on your staff?
interesting question: NYC is one big exclusive gated community, right? so who is going into the smelly low end 7/11s? the maids? the "workers"? just asking. people w/$$ dont go onto grocery stores. as for empty "vacation' apts for investors: this is happening world wide. i am out of the US, & live in a really beautiful neighborhood. the weird thing was there was about 30% lived there. maybe a holiday or a weekend. i only saw workers in gardens. the big question IS: where DO all these elites live? really live? theyre not in NYC, their not in a suburb of another major city, this is mysterious. to make a long story longer, the chains are taking over here, as i said i am NOT in the united states. same gross chians, 7/11 subway kentuckyfried walmart. more small businesses are closing every day. farms are bought, then burnt down. if they dont build a 7/11, then it stays vacant, full of garbage. im beginning to think the 7/11s are for investment too. how many do you need in a mile radius? expecially if there are other similar chains. i wont go in these places anywhere in the world, this is not about NY, its everywhere.
yes micheal.... & you are jealous as you lost your position as king of hip. you know, rocker, hippy writter. get over it, & update that photo. jeremiah & his followers are whats happening now. get w/the program. never heard of your band anyway.
to add to my 11:28am comment: the 70% empty homes (in my neighorhood out side US), some times do have "renters" (as they do in NYC). here the property is rented out for a party on the weekend. sometimes short term "vacation". other times renters are mid level drug dealers. what is going on on the world w/ neigborhoods? im not a conspiracy theorist, but somethings up w/the new world order. maybe the trend forecaster celente has a take on this.
Hey laura, have you ever heard of uppercase? Try it, you may like it. Most of your posts are incomprehensible.
RE: article from the 'Acton Institute Power Blog'(whatever that is..)
I love these pundits and writers that get annoyed with progressive opinions. You see them all the time on Fox. You know, the ones that get agravated by others who do actually do that moron thing called 'critical thinking'. Gee, how 'elitist' it is to want independent businesses to thrive and not want a landscape of corporate chains. Yeah..that's just alot of whining from the 'hipsters'. Last time I checked, by the way, 'hipsters' are part of the problem as well, so it seems that in the context of this article there's a clear lack of undertanding about what the cultural environment of NYC is really made of these days.
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