Is the Holiday Cocktail Lounge doomed again? [EVG]
Having real, live homeless men sleeping in your boutique flophouse hotel is “an asset to the property," where underwear on a railing makes a good photo op. [NYT]
Celebrating American Neon. [NYN]
It's time for New York Comic Con. [NYCC]
Eugenides in Fort Greene attracts a "sea of horn-rimmed glasses." [CNY]
"why would anyone want a high-tech, $6,400 toilet?" Apparently, because it reminds them of their iPhone. [NYT]
"Now, everywhere you go, loudmouths will be addressing their pliant servant," the iPhone Siri. [Restless]
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Bear Auto
VANISHED
In June, when the High Line's part two opened, I worried that the Firestone Bear auto shop would soon shutter. In July we first heard that the business had been given three months to live, but was fighting in court. Now, right on schedule, the shop has been emptied and surrounded by plywood. As Curbed reports, "the wrecked cars are gone, the tools cleared out and the 1-story garage is coming down."
That's how fast it happens.
Curbed: Bear Auto today--empty
One auto-related business or another has been on this corner lot for the past 70 years, but then the High Line arrived. And, as our local tipster told us in July, "The very expensive private school that is being built between 25th and 26th, a significant contributor to the High Line" might be interested in the space.
Bear Auto this summer--thriving
The closure of an auto-body shop may not break every heart, but it's another sign of how quickly and completely the High Line is destroying local, long-time, non-luxury businesses along its celebrated length. As AM New York recently wrote, "The lush green artery is killing off a chunk of New York’s entrepreneurial and gritty industrial past." Alan Brownfeld's third-generation auto business is fighting for its life. Even La Lunchonette--a French bistro on 18th and 10th since 1988--is under threat.
Who will be next?
Eagle Under Siege
Folsom Under High Line
Goodbye Poppy's
The Upper High Line
In June, when the High Line's part two opened, I worried that the Firestone Bear auto shop would soon shutter. In July we first heard that the business had been given three months to live, but was fighting in court. Now, right on schedule, the shop has been emptied and surrounded by plywood. As Curbed reports, "the wrecked cars are gone, the tools cleared out and the 1-story garage is coming down."
That's how fast it happens.
Curbed: Bear Auto today--empty
One auto-related business or another has been on this corner lot for the past 70 years, but then the High Line arrived. And, as our local tipster told us in July, "The very expensive private school that is being built between 25th and 26th, a significant contributor to the High Line" might be interested in the space.
Bear Auto this summer--thriving
The closure of an auto-body shop may not break every heart, but it's another sign of how quickly and completely the High Line is destroying local, long-time, non-luxury businesses along its celebrated length. As AM New York recently wrote, "The lush green artery is killing off a chunk of New York’s entrepreneurial and gritty industrial past." Alan Brownfeld's third-generation auto business is fighting for its life. Even La Lunchonette--a French bistro on 18th and 10th since 1988--is under threat.
Who will be next?
Eagle Under Siege
Folsom Under High Line
Goodbye Poppy's
The Upper High Line
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
New Waverly Diner
After reports of the Waverly Diner's gutting for renovation, the place suddenly looked shut down and abandoned, with the neon sign gone from the front and ominous plywood in the windows--some decorated with "Yuppies go home" graffiti.
Last week
Had the renovation money run out? Was this another project dead in the water? Would we soon see a bank take over the corner?
All seemed lost.
But now the plywood has been taken down and, above the papered half of the windows, you can see new lighting fixtures and dark-wood paneling on the walls that recall the old Waverly.
New fixtures
From the limited view, the new Waverly looks a lot warmer than the original renderings would suggest.
There is hope.
Rendering by Jorge Fontan
Last week
Had the renovation money run out? Was this another project dead in the water? Would we soon see a bank take over the corner?
All seemed lost.
But now the plywood has been taken down and, above the papered half of the windows, you can see new lighting fixtures and dark-wood paneling on the walls that recall the old Waverly.
New fixtures
From the limited view, the new Waverly looks a lot warmer than the original renderings would suggest.
There is hope.
Rendering by Jorge Fontan
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
*Everyday Chatter
Saturday: Occupy Tompkins Square Park with John Penley. [EVG]
Support the distribution of the wonderful film Lost Bohemia. [KS]
At Coney, say goodbye to "Hey Joey." [ATZ]
I am enthralled by the rediscovered 1950s street photography of Vivian Maier. [ENY]
Zizek speaks to Occupy Wall Street. [DM]
The shuttered Lukoil on 8th Ave. is now plywooded--in a time when Manhattan is losing its gas stations:
In case you missed Calvin Trillin at the Tenement Museum. [BB]
Romy flashes back to 2004 and Skyline Books. [WIC]
10/18: If you're in Philly, check out this discussion of Bloomberg's New York. [PENN]
10/18: Dan Clowes and Seth in conversation at Housing Works Bookstore. [FB]
10/25: See Reverend Jen, Faceboy, and Jonathan Ames at St. Mark's Bookshop.
Support the distribution of the wonderful film Lost Bohemia. [KS]
At Coney, say goodbye to "Hey Joey." [ATZ]
I am enthralled by the rediscovered 1950s street photography of Vivian Maier. [ENY]
Zizek speaks to Occupy Wall Street. [DM]
The shuttered Lukoil on 8th Ave. is now plywooded--in a time when Manhattan is losing its gas stations:
In case you missed Calvin Trillin at the Tenement Museum. [BB]
Romy flashes back to 2004 and Skyline Books. [WIC]
10/18: If you're in Philly, check out this discussion of Bloomberg's New York. [PENN]
10/18: Dan Clowes and Seth in conversation at Housing Works Bookstore. [FB]
10/25: See Reverend Jen, Faceboy, and Jonathan Ames at St. Mark's Bookshop.
Paris Review for St. Mark's
I keep waiting for publishers, editors, and authors to come to the defense of St. Mark's Bookshop, so I was glad to see that Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review, has stepped up with support.
In a blog post he writes, "The staff don’t just select the stock, they proselytize on its behalf and, in their small way, help hold the neighborhood together." He reports that the bookstore sells more copies of The Paris Review than most cities, and more than the journal's own website. Says Stein, "New York needs bookstores, too, or it will no longer be New York."
To help out, The Paris Review is now offering "a special discount to St. Mark’s patrons...when you buy a copy of our fall issue at St. Mark’s, you’ll receive a coupon good for 25% off a one-year subscription to The Paris Review, starting with our next issue (it’s good for T-shirts, tote bags, and mugs, too). It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting this beloved East Village institution!"
So go for it. And buy a book in there, too, while you're at it. The fight is not yet over.
Read more on St. Mark's Bookshop:
Michael Moore at St. Mark's
Buy A Book Weekend at St. Mark's
Xmas in September
St. Mark's Vestibule
And sign that petition
In a blog post he writes, "The staff don’t just select the stock, they proselytize on its behalf and, in their small way, help hold the neighborhood together." He reports that the bookstore sells more copies of The Paris Review than most cities, and more than the journal's own website. Says Stein, "New York needs bookstores, too, or it will no longer be New York."
To help out, The Paris Review is now offering "a special discount to St. Mark’s patrons...when you buy a copy of our fall issue at St. Mark’s, you’ll receive a coupon good for 25% off a one-year subscription to The Paris Review, starting with our next issue (it’s good for T-shirts, tote bags, and mugs, too). It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting this beloved East Village institution!"
So go for it. And buy a book in there, too, while you're at it. The fight is not yet over.
Read more on St. Mark's Bookshop:
Michael Moore at St. Mark's
Buy A Book Weekend at St. Mark's
Xmas in September
St. Mark's Vestibule
And sign that petition
Monday, October 10, 2011
*Everyday Chatter
On the Bowery: "generic glass-and-steel towers, trendy hotels, art galleries and chains like Whole Foods have been chipping away at the street’s character, threatening to make some blocks resemble the sleeker stretches of Avenue of the Americas or Third Avenue in Midtown." [NYT]
Bad news for Joe's Bar in the EV? [EVG]
You can help get Occupy Wall Street billboards up in Times Square. [RS]
Amusing the Zillion announces a Coney Island "Countdown to Corporatization," counting the days "Until 7 Mom & Pops Are Kicked Off the Coney Island Boardwalk!" [ATZ]
Part three in remembering Cornell and the Flower Stall. [HNY]
Lisanne follows artist Edith Raw, the walking tin-can lady, down 14th St. [youtube]
"Notwithstanding its reputation as a sex palace, the Continental Baths was a home and haven for many people who lived, played, danced, and socialized... It was a place where doctors, lawyers, clerks, waiters, and the wealthy intermingled with each other at the lowest common denominator of human existence." [Advocate]
Mike Albo's Unitard, the Blowdryers, the Cockettes--check out what's happening this month at HOWL at Theater 80 St. Mark's. [HOWL]
On St. Mark's, a "greasy scourge" says the Post as "Drunken patrons of twin 2 Bros. Pizza places have left a sad trail of paper plates, crusts and soda cans"... "It’s ruining the neighborhood!" [NYP]
In Williamsburg, fishing for children to get hooked on iPhone apps. [NYS]
photo: New York Shitty
Because it's never too early to become an iPhone zombie:
Restless asks: Didn't Steve Jobs "just like a heroin dealer, make it a whole lot easier for people -- who naturally gravitate to the lowest common denominator -- to become zombies?" [Restless]
Bad news for Joe's Bar in the EV? [EVG]
You can help get Occupy Wall Street billboards up in Times Square. [RS]
Amusing the Zillion announces a Coney Island "Countdown to Corporatization," counting the days "Until 7 Mom & Pops Are Kicked Off the Coney Island Boardwalk!" [ATZ]
Part three in remembering Cornell and the Flower Stall. [HNY]
Lisanne follows artist Edith Raw, the walking tin-can lady, down 14th St. [youtube]
"Notwithstanding its reputation as a sex palace, the Continental Baths was a home and haven for many people who lived, played, danced, and socialized... It was a place where doctors, lawyers, clerks, waiters, and the wealthy intermingled with each other at the lowest common denominator of human existence." [Advocate]
Mike Albo's Unitard, the Blowdryers, the Cockettes--check out what's happening this month at HOWL at Theater 80 St. Mark's. [HOWL]
On St. Mark's, a "greasy scourge" says the Post as "Drunken patrons of twin 2 Bros. Pizza places have left a sad trail of paper plates, crusts and soda cans"... "It’s ruining the neighborhood!" [NYP]
In Williamsburg, fishing for children to get hooked on iPhone apps. [NYS]
photo: New York Shitty
Because it's never too early to become an iPhone zombie:
Restless asks: Didn't Steve Jobs "just like a heroin dealer, make it a whole lot easier for people -- who naturally gravitate to the lowest common denominator -- to become zombies?" [Restless]
Landmarks Auction
"The lambs of historic preservation," wrote Christopher Gray in the Times last week, "fought the lions of John Portman and his hotel juggernaut at the Battle of the Helen Hayes Theater in 1982. The lions won, and the theater was destroyed, like Carthage. Later this month, anyone who wants a very substantial battlefield souvenir may bid on a truckload of 300-pound pieces of glazed terra cotta."
The terra cotta pieces are included in the warehouse sale of the Landmarks Preservation Committee--the list of items, with photos, is now available.
According to the LPC's website, their architectural salvage program began in 1980 "to reuse discarded elements from privately and publicly owned buildings across the city. The salvaged items, including wrought iron fences, grilles, brackets, doors, banisters, windows and decorative elements" were kept in a warehouse in Williamsburg.
NY Times
Said a commission researcher to the Times this summer, “The idea was to collect these things for the public good, not for some dealer to make a significant profit. The mandate was to help the people of New York." But due to budget constraints, the warehouse will be demolished to make room for affordable housing. The contents of the warehouse are going up for auction to the highest bidder.
So what treasures can be found there? Aside from chunks of the Helen Hayes theater, there are several cow heads salvaged from the facade of a Bronx dairy building.
from the LPC listing
You can bring home your very own wooden phone booth.
from the LPC listing
And who doesn't love (and miss) the word PHILATELIC?
from the LPC listing
For more photos and information about the auction, visit the LPC website.
The terra cotta pieces are included in the warehouse sale of the Landmarks Preservation Committee--the list of items, with photos, is now available.
According to the LPC's website, their architectural salvage program began in 1980 "to reuse discarded elements from privately and publicly owned buildings across the city. The salvaged items, including wrought iron fences, grilles, brackets, doors, banisters, windows and decorative elements" were kept in a warehouse in Williamsburg.
NY Times
Said a commission researcher to the Times this summer, “The idea was to collect these things for the public good, not for some dealer to make a significant profit. The mandate was to help the people of New York." But due to budget constraints, the warehouse will be demolished to make room for affordable housing. The contents of the warehouse are going up for auction to the highest bidder.
So what treasures can be found there? Aside from chunks of the Helen Hayes theater, there are several cow heads salvaged from the facade of a Bronx dairy building.
from the LPC listing
You can bring home your very own wooden phone booth.
from the LPC listing
And who doesn't love (and miss) the word PHILATELIC?
from the LPC listing
For more photos and information about the auction, visit the LPC website.
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