Tuesday, May 22, 2012

*Everyday Chatter

My heart is fucking breaking for Prime Burger--vanishing soon. [Eater]

More on Prime Burger--the last day is Saturday. [Gothamist]


Prime Burger, 2008

The realty people are thrilled that Astor Place is becoming Midtown. Cooper Union, this one's on you. [EVG]

A dream about artworld assholes in Astor Place. [DVNY]

An update on the Chelsea Hotel demolition. [LWL]

Ethan Hawke accompanies his daughter Maya performing at the almost-vanished Caffe Vivaldi. Where's Uma? [youtube]

Googa-Mooga filled with violent, smartphone-obsessed foodies. [NYM]

A dozen old-school lunch counters in NYC. [Eater]

Don't you wish you could be in California right now to see Randy Hage's miniature New York on view at the Flower Pepper Gallery?

15 comments:

James C. Taylor said...

I am so depressed about Prime Burger. Loved that place (and their egg cream wasn't at all bad) though sadly I'd often find myself in Midtown on Sundays when it was closed. Ironically there's photo of Sarah Jessica Parker behind the counter -- such endorsement is usually enough to guarantee lines snaking around the block.

Thanks for the warning -- I'll be sure to pay a last visit before Saturday.

Ken Mac said...

I understood Burden's sickness so much better after reading the NYT profile. Another blueblood who thinks she knows better. A Wall Street type unleashing doom and Cancer to our city. And when she's finished, she'll simply retire with her millions, in another city.

Caleo said...

I encourage everyone to read the puff piece on Burden (fitting name).
I consider myself well informed, but had no idea that this woman had this much power and has personally rubberstamped so much of the luxurification that has hit NYC like a tsunami.
I mean, there literally is a face to all this carnage, and it's the face of a lone, over privileged socialite who doesn't appear to have ever set foot in most of the neighborhoods she has helped destroy.
A billionaire mayor and a preening heiress have served as the one/two knockout punch to this glorious old town.
She helped make the city safe for all those like herself who wish to impose their vision of turning New York into Dubai on the Hudson.
Incredible how much damage one very wealthy, very deluded individual can do. And she actually believes that she is embodying Jane Jacobs with all of this rezoning and over development.
The comments after the article are generally excellent. Alot of exhausted and angry people out there... and all we can do in the face of this is shake our heads in disbelief and attend community board meetings that ultimately accomplish nothing.
And she's still not done yet.

mingusal said...

That Babe Paley's daughter is the Robert Moses of today's New York tells me a lot.

meinnyc said...

Holy CRAP...yet ANOTHER Cool Place Bites the Dust, dammitt...LOL...This makes me feel how I felt when HOJO'S closed in Times Square(and I fought hard to stop that)...Once these places go they're gone 4ever....Hate seeing this happen...Pisses me off to no End...lol...

Eddie Kendricks said...

The Great Googamooga was just a Ball of Confusion.

Anonymous said...

There are some racial undertones to what former Miss Mortimer is doing to the city. Just look at the neighborhoods she has rezoned and is planning to rezoned. And to put Godwin's Law here, no different than what Hitler did in trying to create an Aryan master race.

Brendan said...

What's infuriating is that the city KNOWS how to do development for the middle and working class. They've been doing it in the Bronx for 10 years now. They did it in the past, with the big waves of Mitchell-Lama and tax abatement programs. Bloomberg/Burden's development agenda for Manhattan and Brooklyn was a deliberate choice to do something different. I don't understand why it was allowed. The squeeze of the middle class should have been THE issue in NYC politics for the last decade but it's barely mentioned. I really can't understand it.

Laura Goggin Photography said...

Everything in this post makes me sad except the last item - yes, I wish I could see Randy Hage's work! We need to bring him to NYC.

Claribel said...

“There is no question that under Amanda’s leadership, New York has experienced a renaissance,” said Vin Cipolla, president of the Municipal Art Society of New York, “with more development of parkland, waterfront and infrastructure over the last 10 years than in the 100 years before it.” My heart sank when I read that quote. Won’t be renewing my MAS membership, unfortunately. So much for their mission statement. They should replace it with ass-kissing the elite.

Jeremiah Moss said...

and if/when Christine Quinn is elected mayor, Burden may continue her work...

JAZ said...

I really hope Randy Hage can master the next step: miniaturizing real people so that we can escape the daily genocide of this city, and go live in his miniature NYC.

Jeremiah Moss said...

i've spoken with Randy and he's working on it.

esquared™ said...

Fake (might as well have been real) GoogaMooga menu

http://www.fuckedinparkslope.com/home/who-handed-out-these-hilarious-fake-menus-at-googamooga-over.html

laura said...

anon 9:44, wrong comparisn. no ones trying to create a master race. jay-z lives in tribeca. spike lee in the east 60s between park & mad or lex. burden is not a racist. she is a classist. new york is a mixed race place, its what you can afford. & also if the existing coop owners vote you in. guess when you have big $$, you buy the building.