Thursday, October 4, 2012
Vanishing NY Dreams
Three dreams on the dream blog today: The Manganaro's ladies take over Fedora, Goggla dreams of Joseph Mitchell at the Seaport, and Grieve watches Ray's Candy vanish.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Vinyl to Bubble Tea
After Rockit Scientist Records left St. Mark's Place, thanks to a hike in the rent, Joey's Vinyl lived on, peddling records out of milk crates in front of the defunct shop. Now we hear that it's time for Joey to leave St. Mark's.
What's coming next?
Inside sources say: Bubble tea. Because what St. Mark's Place and the East Village really need is more bubble tea.
What's coming next?
Inside sources say: Bubble tea. Because what St. Mark's Place and the East Village really need is more bubble tea.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Death of a Block III
Sadly, the New Barber Shop of Chelsea is no more. Reader Richie Cohen writes in, "I just walked past New Barber Shop and Manolo was locking up for the last time. Remember how Willie said they found a new place on 18th Street? That fell through. I wanted to cry, but I shook his hand and we just sadly said good luck. I've known them for 22 years. Willie used to cut my hair for free when I was an unemployed actor."
The owner of this building is Stonehenge Partners.
2008 (read the original story here)
With a red banner around the property capitalizing on the High Line's proximity ("Where Chelsea Meets the Highline"), Stonehenge has released their rendering of the plans for the mom-and-pop block.
Where once was a colorful row filled with eclectic, family-run, and useful businesses that served the local community, we see a field of beige.
Stonehenge
Where the Tamara dry cleaners and tailoring shop stands today, there's a bland nothingness. The same extends right through the New Barber Shop, erasing a space that harbored many for more than just a haircut. Patricia and her wonderful Sweet Banana Candy store get the same treatment. The New China, already gone, will also be blandified, along with everything else.
Before
After
Reported DNA, Stonehenge "wants to bring in a single tenant for the roughly 5,300-square-foot space — once home to six small businesses — on a 10-year lease, according to broker documents. The new spot at 112 Ninth Ave. will be gutted and renovated in time for a 2013 opening."
Previously:
New Barber Shop
Death of a Block 2
Death of a Block
Saving 9th Avenue
Sweet Banana Candy Store
New China
Chelsea Liquors
The owner of this building is Stonehenge Partners.
2008 (read the original story here)
With a red banner around the property capitalizing on the High Line's proximity ("Where Chelsea Meets the Highline"), Stonehenge has released their rendering of the plans for the mom-and-pop block.
Where once was a colorful row filled with eclectic, family-run, and useful businesses that served the local community, we see a field of beige.
Stonehenge
Where the Tamara dry cleaners and tailoring shop stands today, there's a bland nothingness. The same extends right through the New Barber Shop, erasing a space that harbored many for more than just a haircut. Patricia and her wonderful Sweet Banana Candy store get the same treatment. The New China, already gone, will also be blandified, along with everything else.
Before
After
Reported DNA, Stonehenge "wants to bring in a single tenant for the roughly 5,300-square-foot space — once home to six small businesses — on a 10-year lease, according to broker documents. The new spot at 112 Ninth Ave. will be gutted and renovated in time for a 2013 opening."
Previously:
New Barber Shop
Death of a Block 2
Death of a Block
Saving 9th Avenue
Sweet Banana Candy Store
New China
Chelsea Liquors
Monday, October 1, 2012
Neil Smith: 1954 - 2012
This weekend, CUNY professor, author, and expert on the topic of urban gentrification Neil Smith passed away. He was 58.
As Wikipedia put it, "Smith is credited with convincing theories about the gentrification of the inner city as an economic process propelled by urban land prices and city land speculation — not a cultural preference for living in the city."
Professor Smith was kind enough to be interviewed on this blog last summer. We talked about gentrification, Bloomberg, and today's "total class retake of the central city." His evolving ideas on this important subject, and his impact on future students of the city, will be greatly missed.
Tonight, there will be an informal memorial with "an open mic set up so that those who wish to share their thoughts, read a poem, sing a song, tap dance, chant tribalistic anti-capitalist monosyllables, etc. will have an opportunity to do so. You can also just come and chat and spend a while in a space filled with others struck by this untimely loss."
As Wikipedia put it, "Smith is credited with convincing theories about the gentrification of the inner city as an economic process propelled by urban land prices and city land speculation — not a cultural preference for living in the city."
Professor Smith was kind enough to be interviewed on this blog last summer. We talked about gentrification, Bloomberg, and today's "total class retake of the central city." His evolving ideas on this important subject, and his impact on future students of the city, will be greatly missed.
Tonight, there will be an informal memorial with "an open mic set up so that those who wish to share their thoughts, read a poem, sing a song, tap dance, chant tribalistic anti-capitalist monosyllables, etc. will have an opportunity to do so. You can also just come and chat and spend a while in a space filled with others struck by this untimely loss."
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Neil's Coffee Shop
As we lose more and more diners, Neil's Coffee Shop (not vanishing, don't worry) deserves recognition for being a quality hold-out from the old city.
On Lexington and 70th, Neil's has been here for half a century--and it's got the signage to prove it, from the brilliant pink neon sign to the all-caps COFFEE SHOP on the front, to the cursive Neil's suspended on a white cloud around the side.
Inside, tucked up by the ceiling, above the Greek-themed murals, you'll find framed head shots of mostly forgotten stars. But there are a few luminaries. Jim Fowler, originally of the beloved Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, has a place of honor above the register with two photos, right next to Steve Martin.
There's also Tony Randall, Howard Cosell, and Liza Minelli, who draws a heart and writes "Finally!"
Finally what? Finally, she got herself to Neil's Coffee Shop, after longing to do so for a great while? Finally, she brought in the photo she promised? Finally, she tasted the French toast?
One of the things I like about the Upper East Side is that it remains so much itself. It's not trying to be another neighborhood and it's not trying to be cool. It's filled with all kinds of tacky, expensive shops, and none of them are ironic. The rich people there, walking around in full-length furs, look like New Yorkers, and not like Europeans or Midwesterners trying to look like Europeans in New York.
There are also lots and lots of ancient white ladies toddling around, complaining about life, with their hands heavy with diamonds and their eyelids painted pink. They have great faces, and you can watch them go by from the window at Neil's.
On Lexington and 70th, Neil's has been here for half a century--and it's got the signage to prove it, from the brilliant pink neon sign to the all-caps COFFEE SHOP on the front, to the cursive Neil's suspended on a white cloud around the side.
Inside, tucked up by the ceiling, above the Greek-themed murals, you'll find framed head shots of mostly forgotten stars. But there are a few luminaries. Jim Fowler, originally of the beloved Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, has a place of honor above the register with two photos, right next to Steve Martin.
There's also Tony Randall, Howard Cosell, and Liza Minelli, who draws a heart and writes "Finally!"
Finally what? Finally, she got herself to Neil's Coffee Shop, after longing to do so for a great while? Finally, she brought in the photo she promised? Finally, she tasted the French toast?
One of the things I like about the Upper East Side is that it remains so much itself. It's not trying to be another neighborhood and it's not trying to be cool. It's filled with all kinds of tacky, expensive shops, and none of them are ironic. The rich people there, walking around in full-length furs, look like New Yorkers, and not like Europeans or Midwesterners trying to look like Europeans in New York.
There are also lots and lots of ancient white ladies toddling around, complaining about life, with their hands heavy with diamonds and their eyelids painted pink. They have great faces, and you can watch them go by from the window at Neil's.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Dirty Shoes
These shoes appeared recently inside the fence at the spot that was once Billy's Antiques on Houston Street. They have since vanished. Enjoy.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The Dugout
In 2009, I did a post about 3rd Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets. In the comments section, people started talking about the Dugout, an old dive bar on the block. I asked if anyone had a photo of the bar, but nothing turned up.
Just a shadowy glimpse of it in a quick scene from Taxi Driver.
Ask, be patient, and ye shall receive.
Three years later, Jason Fernau sends in the following photo.
circa 1983
Jason also shares his Memories of the Dugout, 1982-1984:
The Dugout was halfway underground, you had those 3 steel plate covered steps descending down to the doors, wide steps like on a loading dock. Then one more step down and you were in. My recollection is that the lighting was all fluorescent, and was really bright as well, much brighter than a bar should be. Daytime it was bright fluorescent and the view out the doors was the vista of the sidewalk with the traffic behind it. People walking by were viewed from the thighs down. So you might see a miniskirt and great legs, or a shuffling older person, or a whole dog pulling a pair of legs. Nighttime it was brighter fluorescent. But somehow that never was an issue. I guess it just fit the place, or kept out those who couldn't stand it.
The Dugout had one night bartender, Bob from NJ. It seemed like he worked every night, though he must have had a day off. The place was never busy enough to need more than him. I think sometimes in a crunch there was somebody else who would rinse mugs and put them in the freezer. Nicest guy you could ever imagine. Ready with a smile, did what was needed, when it was needed, and we thanked him every time and he thanked us every time for coming in. From the first to the thousandth time you ordered a beer from him, Bob would say "Frosted Mug?" as if the answer could ever be anything but "Yes."
When you entered, bar on the left, tables in the middle, an old steam table lunch counter on the right hand side, looked like it hadn't been used in decades. I just heard from a fellow patron who said you could get a Liverwurst sandwich there for $1.50. Bob must have made it behind the bar.
There were frames on the walls filled with collections of snapshots of customers in the place, not old, contemporary to the time, and I remember that I was in one. I felt good about that. Faces seated around the plain wooden tables they had, some with mugs upraised.
There was an older gentleman, Saul, black glasses, stained beard, anchoring the back end of the bar, newspaper in front of him. He was usually there. We always used to speculate if he really owned the bar. I never found out one way or the other. he used to let us buy him drinks and he never bought drinks for anyone. Maybe that was the proof that he owned the place, seemed like a good strategy from his viewpoint.
50-cent draft in a frosted mug. What a deal.
Just a shadowy glimpse of it in a quick scene from Taxi Driver.
Ask, be patient, and ye shall receive.
Three years later, Jason Fernau sends in the following photo.
circa 1983
Jason also shares his Memories of the Dugout, 1982-1984:
The Dugout was halfway underground, you had those 3 steel plate covered steps descending down to the doors, wide steps like on a loading dock. Then one more step down and you were in. My recollection is that the lighting was all fluorescent, and was really bright as well, much brighter than a bar should be. Daytime it was bright fluorescent and the view out the doors was the vista of the sidewalk with the traffic behind it. People walking by were viewed from the thighs down. So you might see a miniskirt and great legs, or a shuffling older person, or a whole dog pulling a pair of legs. Nighttime it was brighter fluorescent. But somehow that never was an issue. I guess it just fit the place, or kept out those who couldn't stand it.
The Dugout had one night bartender, Bob from NJ. It seemed like he worked every night, though he must have had a day off. The place was never busy enough to need more than him. I think sometimes in a crunch there was somebody else who would rinse mugs and put them in the freezer. Nicest guy you could ever imagine. Ready with a smile, did what was needed, when it was needed, and we thanked him every time and he thanked us every time for coming in. From the first to the thousandth time you ordered a beer from him, Bob would say "Frosted Mug?" as if the answer could ever be anything but "Yes."
When you entered, bar on the left, tables in the middle, an old steam table lunch counter on the right hand side, looked like it hadn't been used in decades. I just heard from a fellow patron who said you could get a Liverwurst sandwich there for $1.50. Bob must have made it behind the bar.
There were frames on the walls filled with collections of snapshots of customers in the place, not old, contemporary to the time, and I remember that I was in one. I felt good about that. Faces seated around the plain wooden tables they had, some with mugs upraised.
There was an older gentleman, Saul, black glasses, stained beard, anchoring the back end of the bar, newspaper in front of him. He was usually there. We always used to speculate if he really owned the bar. I never found out one way or the other. he used to let us buy him drinks and he never bought drinks for anyone. Maybe that was the proof that he owned the place, seemed like a good strategy from his viewpoint.
50-cent draft in a frosted mug. What a deal.
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