6th's Seedy Strip

VANISHING

For years, one stretch of 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village has harbored a little piece of old Times Square, hearkening back to a delightfully crummy cacophony of sex shops, tattoo parlors, and hot dog stands. It has been a small beacon of hope--that this can survive in the new city. But now, in one fell swoop, the seedy carnival is vanishing.



The Real Deal has reported that the "retail condo" occupied by Papaya Dog, the sex shop Fantasy Parties, and Fantasy Tattoo has been sold. The developer who bought it "expects to replace the tenants with more mainstream retailers."

Already, "the well-known sex store Crazy Fantasy closed its doors with the sale and vacated as part of the purchase agreement."



The developer "said he expected to boost the rents significantly in the neighborhood."

And how will he do that? With national chains, of course: "He was putting together a list of potential tenants he would like to lure to the space, such as lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret, cosmetics chain Sephora, sweet shop Dylan’s Candy Bar, fast fashion seller Aeropostale and sport retailer Under Armour."



A longtime sales clerk at Fantasy World told the Real Deal, “They didn’t really want us here,” referring to the local residents. “It took a lot to get this open because people don’t want a sex shop in their neighborhood. But we’ve never had any problems.”

With humanity and depth, the developer describes his plans to boot them: “We hope to reposition that asset with a high-end, value-add tenant--something along the lines of Nespresso."

Of course, developers' hopes run high and reality doesn't always match up. What we will probably be saddled with here is a 7-Eleven, a frozen-yogurt joint, and a Denny's. Either way, high or low, another piece of New York succumbs to the chains of America.


See more of my photos here

*Everyday Chatter

Jim Hanley's Universe is closing at the end of April--and a new store is opening. [JHU]

On Bleecker Bob's possible move to the East Village. [EVG]

Help Bleecker Bob's relocate with a little donation! [IGG]

CBGB meets DBGB: Marky Ramone to serve his sauce at Boulud. [Grub] 

Bloomberg's Gilded New York--lots of stuff to read! [Nation]
"New Yorkers have been kvetching about the disappearance of old New York since there was a New York. But the real-estate market of this moment suggests that Mayor Bloomberg’s description of the city as a luxury product is becoming more and more true... many of New York’s most expensive apartments sit empty for much of the year, their superrich owners using them as vacation properties and safe investments instead of actual homes." [NYM]

Financial District gets a Hooters style shoeshine stand--their 70-year-old competitor not amused. [NYDN]


Go see "If These Knishes Could Talk" on May 16. [BDB]

Wigstock 1993. [NY90s]

Privatization of the Commons in Mayor Bloomberg's New York. [HP]

Cupcakes are hopefully dying. [WSJ]

Old NYC bars and their books of matches. [AVW]

The Meatpacking District devours itself as national chains prepare to oust the fashionistas. [DNA]

"God help us if Denny’s and 7-Eleven become part of the artistic culture." [AMNY]

"New York City’s hipster and elitist class seem to believe that they should have some role in determining what business owners do with their property... By what authority do elites like Moss get to decide what businesses appear in New York City and which ones do not?" [AIPB]

Long Island Restaurant

The sadly shuttered Long Island Restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn is finally reopening after being closed since 2007. Want ads have popped up on Craigslist seeking a General Manager and a Head Chef.



The ads say: "We are restoring the Long Island Bar, an iconic corner spot in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Operated by one family since the 1950s, the Long Island Bar is a neighborhood landmark."

For the manager, they want "someone whose energy to deal with broken parts and disappointed humans is unflagging." And they're looking for a chef "who can craft a small, tight menu--uncommonly delicious, but neither showy in nature or size," someone whose "single-minded goal is simple, great, focused food" and who is "into the idea of reducing the labor and stress involved in oversized and overcomplicated menus."

Does that mean the place will still be a comfy diner serving inexpensive dishes like "hamburgers (onions raw or fried), meatloaf, chicken soup, fresh-cut French fries" unchanged since 1951? Or will it be yet another upscale simulation of a once unpretentious classic? (See Fedora, Minetta, Rocco's, Vesuvio, CBGB, Bill's Gay 90s, Waverly Inn, Lion, and Monkey Bar...)
 

photo by James & Karla Murray (read more)

Brooklyn Paper reported in October 2011 that the Alperin family was renting the place to a new and undisclosed tenant. “We want to see life come back,” said Linda Alperin. “It’s very sad to see it closed up. Everyone loves it and wants it to stay the same.” She told the paper that the new restaurateur "agreed to keep the broken neon sign--and hopefully fix it, the Art Deco bar and some of the old interiors."

This past December, Eater spotted a liquor license application on the door with the name of a bartender "often credited as the creator of the popular cosmopolitan cocktail."

On that subject, the bartender once told The Observer: “When I got it, the cosmo was like a really crappy kamikaze, you know, dyed red. I just turned it into a sour. Really, it’s nothing but a vodka sour with a little dash of cranberry to make it pink, albeit a really well-made sour with Cointreau...”

D'Amico's

The fragrance of D'Amico Coffee in Carroll Gardens is intoxicating. They've been roasting beans for 64 years. And yet, with the neighborhood changing, newcomers have complained--I guess they prefer Starbucks. But that was last year, and hopefully they've knocked it off, because D'Amico's is a great place to kick back with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.



At the tables in the back, old-timers sit and shoot the breeze. One person leaves, another comes, the conversation keeps going without pause. Occasionally, someone breaks into operatic song, but mostly it's talk:

"People are blind and retarded now on the street. They don't see nothing. Me, I can see a cockroach if it's walking on the sidewalk."

"Remember Bobby? Bobby Vegas we called him. A Jew. Nice guy. Died of a massive heart attack."

"Do you know the difference between baccala and stocco? One's the male and one's the female. No, the baccala's not the female, it's the male! That shows how much you know about fish."

"Remember Freddy Black? Freddy Black we called him 'cause he walked around in a long, black overcoat, down to his ankles. Looked like an undertaker. You'd see him coming and you'd be like, What's this? Satan coming back around?"

"I can't sleep at night no more. Nobody can sleep at night. But consider this--when you die, you'll have plenty of time to sleep."

New York 1979

A reader sent in a link to another cache of scanned photos featuring the old city, this one of 1979. Photographer M. Joedicke's collection includes many shots of empty streets, crumbling industrial riversides, and dusty old trucks. Here and there, a barely recognizable scene appears--the west side piers, a piece of High Line, a parking lot off Times Square.



Taken as a whole, it's a portrait of a dreary, desolate city where few humans dare (or bother) to tread.


a peek at the once lovely Terminal Diner

The images conjure up a town populated by cigarette advertisements and leaky fire hydrants, where the buildings sag and the paint jobs peel. These photographs might just leave the taste of car exhaust and gutter rain in your mouth.

Hoffman Auto Showroom

The interior of the Hoffman Auto Showroom at 430 Park Avenue has been demolished. Designed as a showroom for luxury cars, it was one of three works by Frank Lloyd Wright in New York City--the Guggenheim and the Cass House on Staten Island remain.



Crain's reported:

"The end came suddenly and unexpectedly. On March 22, the Landmarks Preservation Commission called the owners of 430 Park Ave. to tell them the city was considering designating the Wright showroom—until January, the longtime home to Mercedes of Manhattan—as the city's 115th interior landmark. Three days later, the commission followed up with a letter. Both went unanswered.

Instead, on March 28, the building's owners, Midwood Investment & Management and Oestreicher Properties, reached out to another city agency, the Department of Buildings, requesting a demolition permit for the Wright showroom. The permit was approved the same day, sealing the showroom's fate.

By the following week, workers had arrived and removed every last trace of a space that some architectural historians say inspired Wright's most celebrated New York work, the Guggenheim Museum."


photo: Matt Chaban, Crain's

The showroom was commissioned by Austrian race-car driver and car dealer Maximilian Hoffman in 1953, and was meant as a showplace for Jaguar cars. Since 1957 it has shown Mercedes Benz. Included in his payment, Hoffman gave Wright a Mercedes Type 300 and a 300SL Gullwing.

In the 1980s, the showroom was covered in mirrors, but it retained the original Wright structure. The ramp remained. Eventually, the revolving turntable had broken down.



Mercedes left the space at the end of 2012. Wrote Core77 this past winter, "Whether it's an auto dealership or another type of business that takes the space over, with any luck the fact that it came out of Frank Lloyd Wright's pencil will stay any thoughts of doing a demo-and-reno. But it's New York, and you never know what will happen."

A reader notes: "Sign on the window: Coming Soon, TD Bank."

Outrageous!

Thanks to reader Douglas for letting us know all about the 1977 Canadian movie Outrageous! Starring female impersonator Craig Russell, the film tells the story of Robin, a gay hairdresser who leaves the Great White North for New York City to make it as a drag star.



Robin arrives in New York and takes a cab through Times Square to 10th Avenue, "the real street of broken dreams" as the gay leatherman cabbie describes it. Off the Meatpacking District, they pass The Anvil and The Ramrod--with a view of the newly risen Twin Towers.





Heading along the High Line (when trucks still parked beneath it), Robin and the cab driver end up at a place called The Jack Rabbit Club, a leather-and-Levi's drag bar with a ceiling dripping with tinsel and inflatable bunnies.

Douglas asks us, "Was this a real bar? The movie was made on a really small budget, so I doubt they would just create a bar. Cheaper to use a real one." Does anyone recognize the place?



The entire movie can be seen on youtube. The New York City section begins around 58:30 and it's filled with great street footage of the Village, too. Take a look and let us know if you remember the Jack Rabbit, the Morris Department Store on Christopher and Bleecker, Don's Hideaway Restaurant, and more.