Savannah's CBGB

From Savannah, Georgia, CBGB's lives--on a movie set for the 2013 film CBGB. (See EV Grieve for more.) Maya of Visualingual sends in this shot from a friend on the scene...



...and Will, a reader in Savannah, sends in the following. He writes, "1970s NYC, recreated next to Paula Deen's downtown restaurant. All cringing from that aside, I would say this looks pretty cool!"



Before we know it, the real New York will be a Synechdoche New York, existing only on sound stages and recreations in other cities. What will remain in the real New York? As our vanished culture reappears across middle America, middle America sets up camp in the city--pieces of Brooklyn become Nantucket, the Village turns into Wisconsin. With the suburbanized city looking more like Anywhere, USA, we'll have to leave the city to get a glimpse of New York.

*Everyday Chatter

Hue-Man bookstore in Harlem to shutter--and St. Mark's Books has decided to move out by end of the year. To all of you Kindle people--fuck you. [Crain's]

The gutting of Bill's Gay 90s. [LC]

Check out the big, queer Hot Festival right now. [HOT]

Where did the discarded wood from Coney Island's boardwalk end up? [NYT]

A look back at old Coney restaurants. [Eater]

At Eisenberg's--a good sign:


The East Village gets a big KISS. [EVG]

Upper West Siders win a skirmish against chain stores--what's next? [WSR]

And the Upper West Side loses a 40-year-old pharmacy, thanks to those chain stores. [WSR]

People need grocery stores, not yet another Walgreens. [Gothamist]

Enjoy some Tudor City neon. [NYN]

Movie Star News

VANISHING

Regretfully, I report that Movie Star News in Chelsea is closing down. Once owned by the infamous Irving Klaw, photographer of the legendary pin-up queen Bettie Page, Movie Star News has been a Manhattan original since 1939.



I went in to speak to owner Ira Kramer, nephew of Mr. Klaw, and he answered a few questions in person and over email. He told me that their reason for closing is an all too common one--the rent is going up. They'll be gone before the end of the month.

Originally on East 14th Street, Movie Star News moved to West 18th on Memorial Day weekend in 1983, Ira told me, "with 800 boxes and 90 file cabinets" filled with movie star photos, pin-ups, and posters. He remembers being a kid in the 14th Street shop, going to see movies for free at "the old Jeff," the demolished Jefferson Theater, when the adults got tired of him hanging around.



Ira estimates that the shop's deep and tall shelves held 3 million movie star photos--until he started packing them into cardboard boxes--and he still has Irving Klaw's original negatives on-site.

It's from these negatives that Movie Star News prints photos of vintage pin-ups like Bettie Page to order. However, says Ira, "We decided that the public would have trouble pronouncing her name, so we spelled it Betty."



I asked Ira where Movie Star News will go next. He said:

"I believe my situation changed with the world of digital photography. Many people choose to download photos from websites, free of charge, then have them made up at labs or on their own ink-jet printers. So while I continued to sell posters in the shop, the few photo sales I have are made primarily through my website. With this in mind, why take up over 2,000 square feet of New York City real estate, when only a small portion of this space is actually producing an income? If all goes as planned, I will re-locate to a warehouse in New Jersey, as yet undecided where exactly. I must decide by the end of July and will post this update on my website."


packing up the inventory

And so the city is spitting out another piece of its colorful history--and its soul. What will take its place?

Right now, Movie Star News has the high-end Michael Aram boutique on one side and a slick condo showroom on the other (one of the tiny people in their architectural model is walking while texting on a smartphone--she's a very important, self-involved 1/8"-scale person). Anyway, I'm sure we can expect more of the same.

• Read a full history of Movie Star News
• Visit the website to order photos

old shop on E. 14th

Ray's in Cement

From the Vanishing New York dream blog, a dream from a young New Yorker--and a goodbye to Ray's Candy: "Ray hands me an egg cream and the shop starts to go dark. I look out the window and see huge trucks covering the building with cement. Ray yells at the top of his lungs 'get down here with me' as he opens up a hatch into a cellar."

Read the whole dream here.

And don't forget to send in your (real) Vanishing New York dreams (I'm running low).

*Everyday Chatter

H&H Bagels is going to be a Verizon--as Thomas Beller takes on the "new urban blight" of bankification: "nearly everyone in Manhattan has had a similar moment of staring with some mixture of disgust and amazement at a gleaming new bank branch and thinking, 'Why?' It’s like a retail version of invasion of the body snatchers." [NYer]

A review of the new Coney Island: The "Starbucks of Amusement Parks." [NYLF]

A round-up of recently opened Coney businesses. [ATZ]

Check out the Lunch Hour exhibit at the NYPL. [NYT]

Video of people tripping up the subway stairs. [Gothamist]

Before and after photographer Brian Rose on the changing LES. [EVG]

The pleasures of reading a book in a churchyard. [WIC]

Remembering the Stonewall Riots. [NYO]

Filthy message at a pay phone:

Revolution Books

Revolution Books on West 26th Street is fighting for its life. They're trying to raise $40,000 to keep their lease.


erin m's flickr

Opened circa 1979, they moved to W. 26th Street after losing their old spot on W. 19th in 2008. At that time, they signed a 5-year lease for $69 a square foot.

Now, on their Facebook event page, they write: "Revolution Books' lease is up early next year. Major rent increases have already kicked in. We need you to help pull out all the stops to raise the funds, bring more people into the store, get the store out into the public square and parks this summer. Revolution Books is more than a bookstore -- it is a cause and a movement. It needs your generous financial donation now, and your help in building a much larger base of support."

The tipster who let us know about this says, "I live next door and it is the only antidote to the frattiness of the neighborhood. Would be heartbroken if it closes. Perhaps you can get people to go buy if you posted on your blog?"

Go buy some revolutionary books, people! And you can also make a donation here.

Caffe Capri

Filmmaker Casimir Nozkowski has made a short documentary about Caffe Capri, a longtime Italian coffee shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that is quickly being surrounded by trendy newcomers and chains. Watch the wonderful little film, and read my Q&A with the director.



Q: Why do you think places like Caffe Capri are important to a neighborhood?

A: I think they're important because they're links to the past. The owners of Caffe Capri had so many great stories about former customers who used to come in, who lived and worked in the neighborhood. I think places where people gather, in particular, can be great records of all the different generations of customers who have come and gone. I think it's important to have unique places in a neighborhood--that are owned by people who live in that neighborhood. Let's face it, most neighborhoods these days are overrun with franchises that kind of blur together. A nice personal establishment like Caffe Capri gives a neighborhood color and character that I think ultimately brightens the community. Plus, every neighborhood should have a place that makes a really killer iced coffee.

Q: How does Caffe Capri compare to the newcomer coffee shops in Williamsburg?

A: Personally, I think the iced coffee is better at Caffe Capri. I also prefer the mellow atmosphere and the curated music-scape there. I don't normally go for Sinatra, but at Caffe Capri it's so appropriate and so clearly music that the owners, Joe and Sarah, enjoy, you can't help but dig it. They don't have wi-fi and that's kind of nice, too. It forces me to really stay off my computer when I go there. I write by hand when I'm there, or if I do bring my laptop to do some writing, it's nice being free of the Internet. All that being said, the newcomer shops definitely have their place. If Caffe Capri is closed, I'll go to Blue Bottle. They make a mean New Orleans (a lightly sweet iced coffee). I think that the newcomers' coffee shops do have a uniformity to them that's sometimes a little troubling. They're shiny, austere, and the music is usually very hip, which is fine but feels like it's not lovingly chosen. The newcomers need to put some love in their decor!

Q: You grew up on the Lower East Side, and you've seen a lot of major changes there and in Williamsburg in recent years. How would you characterize those changes?

A: Short answer: troubling. Longer answer: I think that all neighborhoods change and if they've got something good about them, there's usually an influx of people, so you're kind of forced to make room for new people. I was definitely one of those new people who moved to Williamsburg in the late '90s. So there's going to be development and there's going to be changes. I think the hope is that whatever decisions get made, maintaining and enriching the community as a whole is the priority. But the troubling part is that development in the burg and on the LES is so accelerated--it just results in giant glass condos and big hotels and big buildings kind of plunking down and trying to sell as many cookie-cutter luxury apartments--that many people who've lived in these communities all their lives can't afford it. I think Williamsburg has changed faster than the LES. But the LES is definitely on its way now.

Q: What other old Williamsburg places are you hoping will survive?

A: The Garden Grill diner on Graham Ave. has always been good to me and feels like a relic now in the neighborhood. The pizza places on Graham Ave. (Tony's and Carmine's) have to stay. Every neighborhood needs solid pizza. Same goes for Sal's on Lorimer. Incidentally, they make a great espresso, too. I also kind of approve of places like Union Pool, a bar that took over an old space and repurposed it, but kind of did it with real affection I think. I'm more worried about the Lower East Side. Gertel's Bakery, Guss' Pickles, the fabric stores and wholesalers--they're all gone. I like the new art galleries that are showing up there and Doughnut Plant, and I'm glad Kossar's bialys and Russ & Daughters is still in effect. But I'm scared they'll just disappear any minute. Defend the LES!