Vanishing New York Backup

Columbus Circle is poised for a major demolition. Let's begin at Columbus Circle Wine & Liquor. Recently closed and moved a block north to 1802 Broadway, they've been forced to move a lot in the past 74 years. Owned by the Villani family since 1934, they began at 1 Columbus Circle, then got pushed out by the Huntington (now American Heritage) Museum. Their new building was then sold in 1964 (currently Trump Tower). From there, they moved to 1780 Broadway, distinguished by a big red neon LIQUOR sign. But #1780 has been bought by Extell and will soon be replaced by "a fucking 60-story high-rise," as I was told by Steven Villani, the store's current owner. Steven Villani with 1970s sign: the number is still the same Third-generation, Steven is the son of Frank, nephew of Tony, and grandson of Charlie, the founder of the shop, who also happened to be the first Bronx guy to get a liquor license after Prohibition. With it, he opened a tavern and from there came the

Who knew homeless New Yorkers were so fashion-forward? America's Next Top Model hits a new low. [ Gothamist ] Really, I'm not sure anything could be more disgusting than having anorexic fashionistas pose as starving people. Here's Tyra in a cardboard box holding up a Happy to Serve You bodega cup of change. She better not go into Starbucks like that : more photos here Bloomberg clears out Chinatown's "Counterfeit Triangle" and is applauded by Rolex for his efforts to protect luxury business and replace those bad, bad, evil places with "legitimate" shops--umm, like more super-luxury boutiques and chain stores? [ City Room ] A tipster tells me that Bloomie says the proliferation of counterfeit goods is "standing in the way of the revitalization of Chinatown. " Did you know Chinatown was being revitalized? Me neither. Says my tipster, "Get used to the term ChiTo." I guess Canal is being positioned to become the next new-Bleecker. M

On Bleecker Street, there was a deep and narrow shop filled with collectible vintage toys. I remember entire armies of cast-iron men pouring over miniature war-torn hillsides, tin dirigibles and airplanes with spinning propellers, painted hobby horses, carousels, model trains. It was a wonder. But when I walked by yesterday it all was gone, a FOR RENT sign on the front. In the window I saw the pale, boyish face of Van Dexter, the man who presided over the shop for the past 39 years. I waved to him and he invited me inside. In his late 80s, Mr. Dexter may be hard of hearing, but his skin is smooth, almost translucent, and his eyes are sharp. He stood in the ruins of his once-packed shop, now stripped bare, all the toys taken by a single buyer. He is putting his beloved carousel horses up for auction. "I hate to see them go, most of all," he told me. He won't open another shop, though, and hopes to get back into acting. He gave me a souvenir pen that doesn't write unles

At 178 Bleecker, between 6th Ave and Sullivan St, Magic Shoes has been selling hard-to-find, rare, and discontinued footwear since 1979. A favorite among Converse aficionados, they were also voted "Best place to buy '70s librarian shoes" by the Voice. Now their rent has skyrocketed and they will close in April. Everything is on major sale: 80% off and more. The owner, Tina Wu, a smiling, gregarious woman, hopes to sell everything out by the end of March. As she punched out price tags on her tagging gun (reducing a pair of gold pumps from $60 to $10), Ms. Wu told me how her parents opened the store after they came to America from Taiwan and graduated from NYU. Now, with a tremendous rent increase which she did not disclose, the family business will be gone. "Nothing can afford to be here but a big chain," she said, "like a Banana Republic or something. No more mom and pops in this city. In another five years, it will be nothing but chains." She rememb

The other day, by chance, I met Ned Otter, son of photographer Robert Otter, whose black-and-white photos of New York in the 1960s can be found and purchased on a website linked to here . It was a warmish, sunny day in the Meatpacking District and I was just coming back from lunch at the doomed Florent when a stand of neatly matted photos outside the Apple Store stopped me. I chatted awhile with Ned who explained that, while his father was a commercial photographer, he loved to walk the streets, taking photos of his Village home. His work has never been formally collected, so Ned has taken it upon himself to archive and promote the photos, none of which were dated or labeled by his father. A daunting task to say the least. There are hundreds--all of them images of a vanished New York filled with ghosts like Sutter's Bakery, the Women's House of Detention, a Howard Johnson's on 6th and Greenwich, a desolate Highline, the Bleecker Street Cinema (before it was a Duane Reade).

The old Jade Mountain (now Shoolbred's) Chow Mein sign was inexplicably aglow again today. But whatever happened to the wonderful Jade Mountain sign itself? A tipster told me it's sitting on the roof above the new bar--and indeed, you can see it here, chrome agleam in the morning sun. I spent awhile strategizing how I might climb up there for a better shot, but this is as close as I could get: Some of us love old neon signs--like these folks in Brooklyn aiming to save Armando's lobster (since 1936). [ Bk Heights ] via [ AMNY ] A sad, crowded farewell to the old UWS's La Fortuna. [ Lost City ] Is the Chumley's reconstruction really to build a breakroom for weary Marc Jacobs employees? One Eater commenter claims this is so. Jesus H. Christ on a crutch. [ Eater ] Say goodbye to the OTBs --and the toothless old guys who make them what they are. [ City Room ] Coney in the off season is a dream--come see. [ New Yorker ] Another writer weighs in on the meaning behi

With new super-chains Red Mango and Pinkberry taking over the city bedbug-style and both just opened at the corners of 14th and 6th, I thought it was time I checked out Village Yogurt , surely on the fast train to doomsville with Red and Pink duking it out nearby. What I found, however, was something completely different. The Korean owner of the 27-year-old luncheonette , Mr. Jay Kim, explained that Village Yogurt is a bit of a misnomer, as the place sells very little frozen yogurt and mostly deals in delicious, healthy meals. The full name on the take-out menu reads: "Poochie's Natural Cafe (Village Yogurt)." Poochie was his son's nickname as a baby, because he was "small and dear," and Mr. Kim has plans to change the sign out front. Mr. Kim and his vegan treats On the menu you'll find plates of brown rice, veggie dumplings, chicken, and steamed vegetables in various combinations. I opted for the "Everything Super Fantasy," mostly because I

I have often passed 61 Fifth Avenue and wondered about its history and its future. my flickr It has been vacant for awhile, fire destroyed much of it . Recently, 10th Street refugee Danal moved in next door and now #61 is under contrac t, according to Massey Knakal . We don't know what it will be, but we know what it once was. photo source Massey Knakal's description says, "The previous tenant was 61 Cafe, a restaurant/bar with dining areas and roof access. Built in 1938, 61 Fifth Avenue was originally the home to Schrafft's restaurant ." the candy window in 1940 The Schrafft's chain demolished the previous building. Here it is being torn down in 1938. According to the verso of the photo, this building went back to the early Dutch days and was part of the Brevoort estate. Minetta Brook once went streaming past . When Schrafft's took over, the March 18, 1938 Times headline said "Restaurant Chain Will Enter Washington Square Area for the First Time.&qu

Starbucks writes a faux-tearful, "keep your chin up" cliche of a goodbye note as one of its 8th Street outposts shutters . Shazzam! [ Curbed ] But John and Yoko's favorite, Cafe la Fortuna, is closing . With an authentically tearful goodbye note. [ Urbanite ] Somebody must really love Mr. Pokey . In this window on W. 11th Street his short life is still memorialized 5 years after his passing: Speaking of lovable rodents, rumor has it Whole Foods is infesting the Avalon Christie with rats, rats, rats! And the renters are fleeing like, well, rats! (As I rub my hands together in giddy delight.) [ Curbed ] More info about Sophie's survival --with a photo by me. [ NY Mag ] One Lower East Sider looks up at Blue and sees a fist raised against the spirit of the neighborhood. [ Jose V ] Overheard last night in W. Village, 50-ish man to friends, "Ever notice how the more the world changes and all the things you knew from life are lost, the less you want to live at all?&

When did Yonkers get Manhattanized by the real estate machine? SoYo? At least one kayaker/blogger is not happy about this river-blocking development : The Plaza Hotel/Condo is dead , an abandoned house where the lonely megawealthy roam the halls alone, forced to eat pizza with the security guards. Here we see the future of a city in which, with the poor to middle classes kicked out, much of its population will be out-of-town investors who are simply never here . This is the ghost town New York is destined to become. [ Times ] OTBs closer to closing . I've said this before: Will some brave and talented photographer please visit all of the OTBs in town and capture the people and the places before they're wiped off the city map? April may be the deadline. [ Gothamist ] Jeopardy answer: Like SOHO before the Bratz turned up . What is the LES? Mmmm...too late. [ Curbed ] Rich kids say living on the LES is "like waking up in the apartment you partied in the night before."

This past weekend, McSorley's celebrated its 154th anniversary, complete with balloons, party hats, drunken out-of-towners, and men with muskets. The only good time to go to McSorley's is around 11:00 on a weekday morning. If you're very lucky, you'll arrive just as the coal truck, a ghost from the distant past, unloads its bulk down the sidewalk grate and into the basement to be shoveled into the pot-bellied stove on winter mornings. At 11:00 in the morning, the crowds have not yet arrived. You can sit at a table by the window. You can appreciate the way the sunlight illuminates the sawdust on the floor and the dust that furs the lamps along the ceiling. A cat might slip past your legs. For just an hour or so, it's quiet enough to hear the soft talk of old men at the bar proclaiming the wonder of "sody crackers," and to hear, as e.e. cummings put it, "the Bar tinkling luscious jigs dint of ripe silver with warmlyish wetflat splurging smells waltz th

A MUST READ: Many parents continue to be shocked to discover that their children are not, in fact, modern decor. Rather than give in to "ugly" decor, they let their kids crack their skulls all over the place. [ NY Times ] And only permit toys like this one: Kiddie Condo . (I love when the Times proves me right.) What we've all been waiting for-- the giant office park/shopping mall that will soon land on Astor Place . Prepare to scream in pain. [ Curbed ] From one unpublished novelist to another: Hey Matthew Thomas, who just won a $14,000 Manhattan apartment , you better be writing something phenomenal. [ NY Times ] A tipster worries: "Some of us in the neighborhood think that the Jefferson Market may be on its way out --the bags no longer seem to have the name printed on them, shelves can be sparse, and the always-present in-the-back bad smell is now smellable in the front." When bad in-the-back smells migrate to the front, it's time to worry! Another Barne

Back when I was really broke, I would get $4 haircuts at Atlas Barber School. Now I can afford the raise in price--it's a whopping $5--but I also have less hair, so I do my own barbering. Still, when I saw the sign in the window announcing the school's 60th anniversary, I had to go in for a trim. The Atlas Barber School has been on Third Avenue in the East Village since 1948. In the 80s, they moved south a few blocks and, in recent years, with rising rents, they've slowly been trimmed down. The Third Avenue spot's been cut in half and the 10th Street end closed completely. The remaining storefront has maybe a dozen red vinyl chairs manned by mostly men in white smocks. The students are predominantly African American or Eastern European and the talk is mainly of politics. Can Obama do it? Yes he can! As I was hanging up my coat, a black woman with short gray hair (she's been an instructor there for two decades) directed me to take a seat in front of a young, probabl

Frances "Evelyn" Dudley, the very friendly woman who used to panhandle outside the fence of St. Mark's Church on the corner of 11th Street, has passed away. There will be a memorial service for her tomorrow. A tipster writes in about the imminent closing of indie Hell's Kitchen (formerly EV) record shop Future Legend : "As I approached the store my heart sank as the big orange sign of death announcing 50% all stock tipped me off to the latest record store tragedy to hit the city... I got the sense they were closing fast and furiously. Not sure they will even be there tomorrow." Read more about it in the Times and News . [ Beware otB ] A 101-year-old pigment plant closes in Staten Island and that means no more pink pigeons. [ NY Times ] The Fontana Shoe Repair family hopes to donate Angelo's 75-year-old cobbler tools to a museum. [ Villager ] The above article also names Fontana's evicting landlord, Mark Scharfman , who bears the distinction of

When I saw light trickling out from the paper-covered windows and heard the whine of a table saw, I knocked on the door of the International Bar to be welcomed inside by new owners Molly Fitch and Shawn Dahl -- third partner Mark Suall was offsite at that moment. Molly, in protective goggles and Robert Plant muscle-T, was cutting wood to patch holes in the floor. A longtime regular at the old place, she told me she'd read the conversations about the International's reopening on this blog and was glad to take fans' two cents into account. "We're salvaging as much as we can," including a painting of a woman fainting, a photograph of original owner Michael Petruno (the Sacred Cowboy), and wooden boards graffitied with messages like "Fuck the bastards." They hope to open in early April. "It'll be the reopening of the International," they said, "but it can't be exactly the same. Like we're making the bathrooms cleaner and bigger

Mysteriously, after no light for a long time, Jade Mountain 's old Chow Mein sign was aglow yesterday (half of it anyway). Is this a sign that it will soon vanish? Is Chelsea Now being condo-fied like the neighborhood it covers? [ Blog Chelsea ] More confirmation that the East Village has gone suburban . [ NY Times ] Check out a reading-screening by poet/filmmaker Stephanie Gray : Feb 16, 7 p.m. (free) at Vox Pop Cafe & Books in Ditmas Park. Some of her films feature Super-8 collages of vanished New York like Gertel's, Zito's, and Jon Vie Pastries. If that's too far to go, she'll also be at Bluestockings on the LES March 21. [ Vox Pop ] The city moves in once more to shutter Moore Street Market . [ NY Times ] Some accuse me of nostalgia for NYC's brutal, crime-strangled past. Not so. There is a middle ground between abject poverty and abject wealth. But for those who might be nostalgic, here is a fascinating collection of photos, many of the poor Harlem t

Seems like everywhere you look in the East Village these days, shops and restaurants are shuttering and For Rent signs are going up. Some blocks, like on 9th Street, every other storefront has a Rent sign on it. Maybe 7th Street is next for an overhaul. Between 2nd and 1st, Varsovia Travel and Shipping moved out not long ago . They catered to the once-thriving, now-dwindling Polish population. The windows are papered in secrecy but the other night I found a guy in there who said it's going to be a tattoo parlor . This is surely better than a wine bar, but the last thing 7th Street needs is to become another St. Mark's Place carnival... The three words still stickered to the door translate "parcels by boat, air": Between 1st and A, the newbie boutique Sugar is shutting down and everything's on sale . Maybe this newcomer bit off more than it could chew during the recent period of irrational exuberance? Anyway, they're on their way out. I bet they'll be repla