tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post6963392753528558789..comments2023-08-14T11:44:27.299-04:00Comments on Jeremiah's<br> Vanishing New York: Bleecker TimelineJeremiah Mosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-73868672276031159052015-03-17T15:12:53.051-04:002015-03-17T15:12:53.051-04:002004
The Paris Commune restaurant is kicked to the...<br />2004<br />The Paris Commune restaurant is kicked to the curb after 25 years. Sunk without a murmer or notice really. The Villager didnt even bother to mention it. I guess 25 years feeding the neighborhood isn't significant enough to warrent attention. Mayo Roenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-58981035819372372052012-08-22T09:40:02.476-04:002012-08-22T09:40:02.476-04:00I happened to find myself walking down Bleecker fr...I happened to find myself walking down Bleecker from Abingdon Square to Seventh Avenue yesterday evening, and was struck by what is -- at least to me -- a new phenomenon: doggie bowls. <br /><br />It seemed every other boutique had positioned a stainless steel dish of water outside its entrance, presumably to provide customers' pets a refreshing pause (paws?) while their owners browse the racks inside. <br /><br />I guess we've reached a point where every West Village shopper comes with a four-legged accessory whose needs must be taken into consideration. Sometimes Manhattan feels more like Munchkinland.James C. Taylorhttp://www.jamescampbelltaylor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-86743572272023565572012-04-18T10:20:39.596-04:002012-04-18T10:20:39.596-04:00The Village Nursing Home conversion just West of A...The Village Nursing Home conversion just West of Abbington Square illustrates these points. That entire building is converting to just 10 apartments, the smallest being 3,300 square feet.Dylannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-65329635516268136552012-03-10T00:30:26.082-05:002012-03-10T00:30:26.082-05:00@Grumplestiltskin-I’m only 4th generation of mixed...@Grumplestiltskin-I’m only 4th generation of mixed shanty Irish and peasant Sicilian stock so who am I to mince words with a true Wasp like you, my Bill the Butcher clone. However, I will leave quotes from two of my favorite movies:<br /> <br />Gordon Gekko: You see that building? I bought that building ten years ago. My first real estate deal. Sold it two years later, made an $800,000 profit. It was better than sex. At the time I thought that was all the money in the world. Now it's a day's pay. <br /><br />Jake Gittes: How much are you worth? Noah Cross: I have no idea. How much do you want? Jake Gittes: I just wanna know what you're worth. More than 10 million? Noah Cross: Oh my, yes! Jake Gittes: Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can't already afford?Crazy Eddienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-43288929189805321582012-03-09T21:56:27.997-05:002012-03-09T21:56:27.997-05:00Crazy Eddie --
Thirteen generations from Plymouth...Crazy Eddie --<br /><br />Thirteen generations from Plymouth, more from New Amsterdam. It must have been a sex thing. But it's also the usual count. Which I wouldn't expect you to know.<br /><br />And no, I'm not any sort of landlord. And my family as much as any has given away more to the City than any of the contemporary scum who go to parties at the Met.<br /><br />But it's no good at all to start bitching about the profit motive. It's no good at all to think that odd shops deserve a living. I like all those places, too. <br /><br />The question is, Who leaves money on the table? Your answer seems to be, the people who have the money, and not the people who want the money. Good luck with that.Grumplestiltskinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-11475645637501728652012-03-09T15:16:05.373-05:002012-03-09T15:16:05.373-05:00Seems pretty normal to me. Money and greed have th...Seems pretty normal to me. Money and greed have this effect on things. It absolutely sucks but it happens everywhere--not just in NYC. I lived in LA for over a decade and saw a huge number of local businesses quit due to big chains moving in. None of the businesses that I frequented in the heart of Hollywood when I got their in 1994 remain. They were replaced by all the familiar corporate names. This happened along a similar timeline. Maybe a few years longer. I think it's definitely a capitalism thing. Give it enough leash and it'll wipe out anything. I think the main people to fault, though, are the landlords. No one is FORCING them to be so greedy...thepetehttp://thepete.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-32622363389794029872012-03-09T01:51:43.095-05:002012-03-09T01:51:43.095-05:00Apartments' lease need to be for 5 or 10 years...Apartments' lease need to be for 5 or 10 years just like stores, so change will be very very slow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-1591166164662158592012-03-09T00:43:00.998-05:002012-03-09T00:43:00.998-05:00@16th generation New Yorker-always nice to have a ...@16th generation New Yorker-always nice to have a Lenape Indian chime in. Who knew that back in the day, Native American real estate trolls were active as well.Crazy Eddienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-40096449676791433602012-03-08T20:03:56.561-05:002012-03-08T20:03:56.561-05:00MY father opened a business on Bleecker in 1975. ...MY father opened a business on Bleecker in 1975. After 30 years, we had to move. Business was great and the neighborhood loved us. Why did we move? Because the landlord wanted an amount of money that only a multi-national corp could pay. This is what we get. Free market fanatics should never complain because this "what the market will bear."Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-88943948138114556992012-03-08T10:47:48.116-05:002012-03-08T10:47:48.116-05:00mch, so true about hyper-gentrification being like...mch, so true about hyper-gentrification being like global warming. the deniers keep saying, "it's normal, it's always been like this," and soon we'll be under water.<br /><br />why people need to deny that hyper-gentrification is happening i don't understand. what's the benefit to denying it?<br /><br />i also wonder if climate change deniers and hyper-gentrification deniers are the same people. and if they are more right-wing. studies show that right-wing people tend to be more fearful, in which case, denial is a common, though harmful, defense to use.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-19636014502675486412012-03-08T10:24:31.833-05:002012-03-08T10:24:31.833-05:00The shop owners who want landlords to forego incom...The shop owners who want landlords to forego income -- do they forego income themselves? I don't think so.<br /><br />The people who want the neighborhood preserved in amber by the city -- at the expense of property owners, presumably -- who's going to pay for that? Property tax payers throughout the city? Pixies?<br /><br />Jeremiah could make a map without much difficulty showing how "high-end" shopping districts have migrated all over Manhattan over the past 150 years. The only difference today is that people pretend the past was always fixed -- and they whine more, because they're like that.<br /><br />16th generation New YorkerGrumplestiltskinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-82615737735870505162012-03-08T07:00:20.589-05:002012-03-08T07:00:20.589-05:00i own a small shop on w 10 st, off hudson st. my l...i own a small shop on w 10 st, off hudson st. my lease is up in aug. and my rotten landlord has already told me he is going to raise my rent double.... greedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-33689692532629102952012-03-08T00:51:26.826-05:002012-03-08T00:51:26.826-05:00Reminds me of global warming. I mean, at first ser...Reminds me of global warming. I mean, at first serious scientists say, well, there have always been fluctuations in the earth's temperature. And then they look closely at the long history and say, well, yeah, there have always been fluctuations, but never change at anything like this rate.<br />Like others here, I would have thought the great recession or whatever this is would have made itself felt. What happened to that retail real estate crisis that was supposed to follow the home mortgage crisis? Megan McArdle's world still rules, I guess.<br />I've used up my space -- many Bleecker Street memories, my own, others I inherited....mchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-41304686936235672682012-03-07T21:38:41.486-05:002012-03-07T21:38:41.486-05:00Ironic, one of my code words was "buywas.&quo...Ironic, one of my code words was "buywas."Barbara L. Hansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13691245293493324747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-55062898698540380702012-03-07T21:05:23.105-05:002012-03-07T21:05:23.105-05:00Ninth gen native. I can't take what is happeni...Ninth gen native. I can't take what is happening here. Unutterably depressing for those of us who know nowhere else. I have no so-called hometown to go to. This gentrified, frattified, SATCified version of a once magical city breaks my NY heart.Barbara L. Hansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13691245293493324747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-81400645359581491082012-03-07T20:16:33.089-05:002012-03-07T20:16:33.089-05:00Lived for years just north of Abingdon Square. Rea...Lived for years just north of Abingdon Square. Reading this time line made me ill; glad I left. Check out the April issue of Vanity Fair; editor writes of change in NYC. Many of his remarks echo those of mingusal. Wonder when Bleecker will become a self parody; understand this happened to Rodeo. Sadly, NYC is no longer a home for Little Rickies. Goodbye to all that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-85878271745477355812012-03-07T20:06:27.363-05:002012-03-07T20:06:27.363-05:00Does anyone remember when Magnolia was a bird stor...Does anyone remember when Magnolia was a bird store..? Was just thinking about Miracle Grill and the old Paris Commune. And a couple of other places that are now Juicy Couture's and the like. A simple affordable bite in the hood is still possible but far fewer options. <br />Wish the bird store was still there. Though Carrie Bradshaw would have surely bought a bird.. maybe there's no stopping fate. <br /><br />Thankfully Hudson Street squeaked by and maintains some wonderful independent stores.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-59119419962330183522012-03-07T18:45:25.313-05:002012-03-07T18:45:25.313-05:00everything changes. the outskirts of new york are ...everything changes. the outskirts of new york are not high end. i have shopped on bleeker & i am a new yorker. it was 3 years ago on a bitter cold night & no people. there were a few more small business then, but i know the weekends must have been awful. in spite of this many great people live in the west village.SRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-75426731098827318432012-03-07T16:42:12.955-05:002012-03-07T16:42:12.955-05:00I agree completely with mingusal. I've been w...I agree completely with mingusal. I've been worried for several years that what we have been seeing is that New York is simply one of the handful designated areas for the superelite to live and to turn the screws on everyone else. It appears now that this has been exactly the case. Its taken along time even for opponents of this sort of thing to catch on.Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-58597804256185424022012-03-07T15:50:32.918-05:002012-03-07T15:50:32.918-05:00People wondering why the recession seems to have h...People wondering why the recession seems to have had no effect on hypergentrification may have missed the fact that part of what caused this recession is an enormous upward transfer of income. Manhattan has increasingly become the playground of the very rich because the very rich have more money than ever before. While everyone else has seen stagnating or declining real incomes. And now we have a "recovery" that is providing fewer jobs at significantly lower pay than the ones that were lost.<br /><br />As Manhattan has become increasingly attractive to wealthy people from everywhere else, and less affordable for regular New Yorkers and people with regular jobs, this sort of gentrification. It is now only their tastes that matter, and the city is essentially being wiped out to serve them.<br /> <br />Warren Buffett said it: "There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning."mingusalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05243344762935777939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-57588922577033835622012-03-07T15:07:45.534-05:002012-03-07T15:07:45.534-05:00I'm a born and bred New Yorker. I'm appall...I'm a born and bred New Yorker. I'm appalled at what's happening to my town and I don't want to live in a city that allows neighborhoods to vanish because of free market rules. The identity of these hoods is what makes NY what it is (was). I'm accepting of change, but not to replace the old with name brand boutiques whose owners make no profit off these stores and only purpose is to claim it's name in the area.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-57721982614170796542012-03-07T14:26:22.359-05:002012-03-07T14:26:22.359-05:00the frame shop moved across the street? that's...the frame shop moved across the street? that's remarkable--and i missed it. i'll go check it out, thanks.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-19091531008826793072012-03-07T14:23:59.351-05:002012-03-07T14:23:59.351-05:00The frame shop actually moved across the street. W...The frame shop actually moved across the street. We love his work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-65501714648978447872012-03-07T14:13:40.321-05:002012-03-07T14:13:40.321-05:00Rebel Rebel and Blausteins must be next? God, I ho...Rebel Rebel and Blausteins must be next? God, I hope not. I have frankly lost all hope. 8th street is a planned "foodie corridor," smaller buildings are dropping all over the Village, and I've never seen so many furs and leather handbags. Gag me.Ken Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09100185198750536244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-34917718944808706292012-03-07T14:01:37.072-05:002012-03-07T14:01:37.072-05:00I used to love Bleeker from 7th Ave west in the &#...I used to love Bleeker from 7th Ave west in the '80's. On a Saturday night buy a beer in a paperbag and just stroll. Enough music and other street activity to entertain anyone for a couple of hours.<br /><br />Not that we will ever know but I wonder how many of the high-end stores that have taken over Bleeker actually generate enough cash to cover the idiotically high rents? Or are the loss leaders that are designed to highlight the image?Dave - Everywherenoreply@blogger.com